


Cursed Salvation, Descending Redemption

by ImperialMint



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-13
Updated: 2011-02-13
Packaged: 2017-10-15 15:03:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 247,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/162017
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ImperialMint/pseuds/ImperialMint
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'"Please Itachi… I know I can't save Sasuke but I can save you." Itachi considered these words before knocking Naruto's hand away.' Redemption begins in the form of salvation, at least that's what Naruto believes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Set around manga chapter 364-ish.  
> Some additional information for the chapter:  
> Susanoo - God of the sea and storms, brother to Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, born from Izanagi's washing of his nose.  
> Amaterasu - Goddess of sun, sister to Tsukuyomi and Susanoo, born from Izanagi's washing of his left eye  
> Tsukuyomi - God of the moon, brother to Amaterasu and Susanoo, born from Izanagi's washing of his right eye  
> Chrysanthemum - In Japan the chrysanthemum is also considered a symbol of homosexuality, as the tightly gathered petals are supposed to represent the male anus. It is also the representative flower of November.

**Salvation**

 **the act of saving/protecting from harm, loss, destruction or risk**

 **救うもの**

Itachi knew it was coming. Sasuke's plans had always been so transparent; Sasuke would find him and they would fight until Itachi inevitably died. Itachi covered his mouth as he coughed weakly and slid a pill out from his pocket; the medication was bitter but it eased the pain and that was the thing. He couldn't die any other way than by Sasuke's hand. Sasuke couldn't discover the truth and this battle was to be far more than brother vs. brother, it was to be Itachi's careful performance finally produced upon a live stage.

Itachi's thoughts were interrupted by the rustling of the nearby bushes and he glanced through the foliage to find Uzumaki Naruto, his former prey. Red eyes trailed lazily to the blue and he watched as Naruto's features changed so dramatically; from surprise to anger with all the stops in between.

"Calm, Naruto-kun, I only wish to talk."

Naruto's lip curled and Itachi fought the urge to smirk; Naruto didn't need any goading on, especially now.

"Talk? I'll give you something to talk about," the Uzumaki charged yet Itachi did nothing to move. The Rasengan that had formed in Naruto's palm fizzled and the chakra was absorbed back into the hand it was contained to. Itachi looked into Naruto's eyes, surprised at his actions; they were only a shadow's length – at the most – apart and now would be the perfect opportunity for Naruto to bump the Akatsuki's members down.

"You're a liar."

Itachi's eyes activated the Mangekyou upon instinct. Naruto, unable to look away, was drawn into the connection and gasped. Itachi stood impassively as he saw a younger version of his self bowing down to the Sandaime Hokage, begging for his crime to be hidden from Sasuke.

Itachi focused his mind, attempting to draw both of them from the painful memory and succeeded; they were both thrown into the real world once more, Naruto crashing against his chest from the force of the Mangekyou against his mind. It was a few moments of heavy breathing that broke the silence between the two men before Naruto spoke,

"Coup d'état? How could they… how can you…?"

Itachi eyed Naruto warily; in one stupid moment all his plans could be destroyed. What had happened to the idiot of thirteen years? How had Naruto managed to place everything together this easily – and in such a short amount of time? Itachi watched coldly as Naruto looked at the ground, obviously deep in thought. If either were to move, they would touch the other and Itachi knew then that he needed to leave before something unnecessary fell into his plans. He was to die today and hand the legacy of the Uchiha clan over to Sasuke; god knows it was time.

Itachi moved away yet was stopped by a light tug on his cloak. He turned to see Naruto looking at him, eyes unabashedly shedding tears. Itachi's heart was so weakened by the saline droplets making their path down scarred cheeks that he didn't attempt to break the connection forged by Naruto. It was strange to be the source of such sorrow, yet a sorrow that was not directed because of his actions and their causes, but of the situation that led to those actions

"I never imagined something like that – something so horrible – could be covered up… to the expense of one person's suffering."

Itachi blinked; Naruto saw him as a sufferer?

"I've never been the sharpest kunai of the pouch, Itachi, but I know truth when I see it. It's easier for me to identify Uchiha's too; I'm sure you're aware of Kyuubi's history with Madara."

Naruto never ceased to amuse him; he was like a wild animal; unpredictable to the point of surprise. Of course he knew of Madara's history; the man had been keep to divulge the information that he once held the Kyuubi no Kitsune to his beck and call, yet had been surprised when the fox's chakra would automatically guard any Uchiha fortunate to be able to control the Kyuubi; Madara.

"Why did you take the blame by yourself?"

The stark question made Itachi finally sit beside the blond man. He had had many questions asked before on the subject of the Uchiha Massacre, almost all about his motives. Blame was a new one.

"To protect Sasuke; it's better for him to believe the story I fabricated than the truth. It would destroy his mind to know that everything he has done, everything I have done for him, was planned so long ago. Even my death will be exacted how I wish it to be, not by his will alone."

Itachi could feel blue eyes watching him, digging into every inch of his skin. Normally people averted their eyes from him, afraid of being dragged into the web of the Sharingan yet Naruto obviously did not see him as a threat any longer.

"I do not wish for him to place the blame upon Konoha," he continued, face turned down to the ground. "Sasuke is not one who can let go of his emotions – even as a young child he found it hard to abandon habits and mannerisms. It's part of who he is and I loved the village too much for him to forsake it like he undoubtedly would have."

They sat in silence until Itachi felt a spark run through his head.

"It had begun, Naruto-kun; my final act."

Naruto frowned before nodding.

"Stay here."

Itachi looked at Naruto as he crossed the first two fingers of each hand over each other and smiled at the Uchiha. The clone disappeared into smoke and Itachi shielded his eyes momentarily. Even if he too was a clone, he was still linked to the original and he coughed, blood slipping between the rows of white teeth and onto his hand. It was like an ironic gesture of his life, the blood collected in the slight dip of his white palm, crimson red against an almost white canvas.

It was a short time later that Naruto returned, the real one this time, and appeared to be out of breath. Itachi looked up, letting his hand drop and the gathered blood slide down his fingers and towards the ground. He watched Naruto's eyes follow its path and blue eyes looked up in sad curiosity.

"I'm alone; I managed to slip away and replace myself with a clone. Itachi, you need help. Even if it was unintentional, you showed me the extent of your lies… I want to help you."

Naruto stretched his arm out, the hand turned as if waiting for Itachi to grasp it.

"Please Itachi… I know I can't save Sasuke but I can save you."

Itachi considered these words before knocking Naruto's hand away. He stood smoothly, fighting the urge to cough. If he had been alone, he would have taken another pill yet with the Uzumaki right there… he couldn't be pitied even more.

"I'm not looking for salvation, Naruto-kun; I'm looking at protecting the remainder of my clan. Now if you'll excuse-"

Itachi was cut off by the cough he had tried to hold back and the globule of blood that was spat out onto his hand shone dangerously.

"Please Itachi…"

Itachi winced and pulled another pill from his pocket. He shoved it into his mouth with a bloodstained hand and swallowed it.

"I must take my leave now, if I am to execute my plan I need as much chakra as I can get. Sayonara, Naruto-kun, I am glad we had this opportunity to talk. As a last request, please do not tell anyone about the Uchiha clan or even about this meeting, I would be very grateful."

Itachi's body split slowly into the ravens he was often compared to and he allowed a soft smile to grace his lips as he saw fresh tears on Naruto's cheeks.

"Not that a dead man's thanks is worth anything…"

He closed his eyes and the clone vanished from sight.

Naruto bit back the anguished wail from his mouth and ran blindly forward. The clouds overhead had begun to gather and instincts told the Shinobi this was where the Uchiha brothers were fighting.

Naruto wasn't as stupid as many people believed him to be, he often wondered why they didn't catch onto the fact he wasn't an idiot. Some of the things he had said in the past made him cringe; if it had been anyone else, suspicion would have arisen. As it was, Naruto was known for being an idiot and, even during his time away with Jiraiya; no one had changed that opinion.

It was in fact Jiraiya who had drilled the common sense and knowledge into him; his training methods had expanded not only chakra capacity but brain capacity and ability. Naruto was able to calculate complex problems and formulate strategies that were of a good quality on the spot; maybe not as brilliant as a Nara's but still better than those of an average Shinobi.

When Naruto had returned to Konoha, he had chosen to conceal this hidden power of his; if Konoha preferred the Jinchuuriki to be a bumbling idiot and wouldn't open their eyes to see the man behind the face then that was fine with him. The only people that hadn't underestimated Naruto and assumed him to be something he wasn't were, ironically, the Akatsuki.

Though, he supposed, their mission was to capture him and underestimating their target could have disastrous aftershocks, especially with the way the Akatsuki seemed like they were kept on a tight chain by their leader. Seriously, that guy had some issues… and Naruto hadn't even started on the hats.

He had enough common sense to back off from the scene when Amaterasu – he would never forget the black flames that had burnt through Jiraiya's Toad Summon stomach so long ago – curled around the surrounding areas. It wasn't long that a huge lightning strike, accompanied by the announcement of the Jutsu's name 'Kirin' (an oxymoron in itself to the destruction the Jutsu caused) and the crack as the electrical surge hit the ground.

Naruto then saw the huge figure of Itachi's trump card. The colossal creature (Naruto really wasn't sure what else to call it) was both beautiful and horrifically ugly at the same time. Naruto closed his eyes, wishing the image of the creature away from his mind. It was strange how this teen could stand his ground with the hated Kyuubi yet flinch from this technique.

When the creature disappeared, Naruto's heart leapt into his mouth. Naruto knew that this meant Itachi's death but he refused to believe it; he couldn't let another person (and most importantly an innocent person) fall into darkness.

Resisting the urge to run to the scene, Naruto waited patiently. If he ran in now and Sasuke saw him, things could go horribly wrong. Would he even be able to face the youngest Uchiha, knowing that the person he hated, (his brain supplied the next line, the person he killed) the one he had betrayed Konoha to defeat was nothing more than an exceptionally talented actor?

Naruto managed to establish an open connection with his clone - something Jiraiya had taught him in the three years absent from Konoha, not that anyone aside from Jiraiya knew anything that Naruto had learnt – and found that this Tobi and Zetsu would be coming back for Sasuke. Naruto knew he had to move between the two parties and as quickly as possible.

Naruto hated himself for doing it but tapped into the Kyuubi's chakra. This was the only way he knew how to feel the surrounding chakra without being discovered. He recoiled in surprise when the distinct feel of an Uchiha walked up to the scene of the battle and he crept closer, on all fours as if he was an animal. Blue eyes widened as he saw Tobi offering a hand to Sasuke.

And much like Itachi had earlier, Sasuke swatted the hand away in favour of standing up unaided. His face was pale and eyes were wide, symptoms of the shock that the youngest Uchiha was under. Naruto wondered if he knew that the three remaining members of his clan were all gathered at the scene of the supposed reduction-of-the-Uchiha-clan-to-one.

The Uchiha – even now Naruto could hear the Kyuubi calling the man's name; Madara – placed an arm around his youngest relation and they vanished. His clone informed them of their position and Naruto cursed; he would only have three minutes at the most.

Wasting no time, the Uzumaki darted from the cover of the bushes and over to the bloodied body of Itachi. He didn't bother to check for breathing or a heartbeat (yet willed both to be present) and pulled the man into his arms with difficulty. When Naruto stood, the weight of Itachi's body pulled him down a little and he stumbled back onto his knees.

One minute

Naruto closed his eyes against the pain his leg tendons produced when he tried to right himself without the use of hands. He hadn't noticed the scratches on them before – most likely from the bush – yet now they stung with vicious intent.

Thirty seconds

He stood and that was all that mattered. His hands were able to connect and he breathed a sigh of relief as he felt his body grow lighter. Naruto turned his head to the left and sucked in his breath, preparing for the unusual sense of vertigo that would follow this movement. His leg twitched of its own accord and started the ball rolling; a yellow flash was all there was to an outsider as Naruto used his variation of the Hiraishin no Jutsu. As long as his eyes remained locked on their position, he needed no use for the Kunai his father had used.

Naruto turned his back at the last moment and planted his feet on the ground; he had never really used the Hiraishin before and Jiraiya had excluded from completing his training with it, at least until things calmed down a little. Two deep marks were left in the earth as Naruto skidded to a halt and he looked at his former destination, pleased to note it was quite a way a way now.

Naruto placed Itachi's body on the ground and finally checked for breathing. His eyes widened as he found none, yet he knew a person could live without breathing if their heart was still beating for a short time. When he placed his fingers to Itachi's jugular – and then his wrist, just in case – he almost cried out at the lack of pulse.

Naruto knew that electricity could get a heart to beat again yet he was a wind natured type; that wouldn't have any effect on the Uchiha's heart whatsoever.

"What do I do?"

Naruto lifted his hand up as he felt heat at his fingertips. Both of his eyes widened at the sight of red sparks crackling merrily, there was only one thing that could cause this. He placed his fingers on each hand together, ignoring the slight sting that each spark brought as they collided with his skin and pressed each hand over Itachi's heart, hoping it would be enough.

"Please, please, please, please," Naruto chanted under his breath and released the pressure after two seconds, repeating the action five times.

It was then that he finally remembered the first aid training Kakashi had made them take shortly after they returned from their first C rank mission in the Wave country. He needed to get air into Itachi and to do that he needed to use mouth to mouth.

Anyone would think that Naruto would laugh or be disgusted in this situation – especially as the contact would be with another male – yet Naruto, in all honesty, couldn't give a shit. If a life would be saved then it was worth it and he sucked in a lungful of air before passing it into Itachi's lungs. The sparks crackled loudly as they pressed Itachi's nostrils together and collided with the Uzumaki's cheek yet he soon returned to the electrical compressions, establishing a routine between breathing for Itachi and starting his heart.

Naruto felt as if he was going to break; he had been trying to get the man alive with no avail. Deep inside he knew that he had spent too long trying for it to work; Itachi really was gone. The sparks gave off a large amount of energy and the sting grew stronger; it was as if they were telling him not to give up. With tears gathering in his eyes, Naruto tried once more, slamming his hands against Itachi's chest hard enough to push the man into the ground. When nothing happened, Naruto turned his back to the corpse and allowed the tears a free reign. The sparks died out, leaving an odd crackling sound as a farewell and Naruto heard the distinctive rattle of air being pulled into damaged lungs.

Naruto span round to face his patient and his mouth dropped in astonishment; Itachi's chest was rising and falling in an irregular pattern. At once, Naruto clawed at all information Tsunade, Jiraiya and even Sakura had told him about medical ninjutsu. It wasn't much yet Naruto hoped it would be enough; even if he only had basics he could fuel more chakra into it than most medics could and this was his advantage.

Naruto began at the major organs, allowing his chakra to coat the lungs, heart and brain. He once again felt a sting in his hand and looked down to see the return of the red chakra. Again it seemed the Kyuubi wanted to help and Naruto let the chakra control his hand in puzzlement. The chakra accepted his leniency and began to form around Itachi's body.

The muscles in the man's body began to twitch under the demonic influence yet it was too far gone for Naruto to pull it back; the situation was bordering on a very thin line now, it was a make or break situation.

Even though the chakra, in essentiality, belonged to him, he had no control over it whatsoever and was merely an onlooker to the healing Itachi was receiving. There was one consequence Naruto was aware of at this point in time; the Kyuubi's chakra would submit DNA into each of the damaged cells, causing them to self destruct before speeding up the growth of the cells that would replace them. Although this was the best way to heal such extensive damage, it shortened Itachi's cellular life. Naruto knew that it was no price to pay, yet couldn't be sure if this was the only setback for the Uchiha.

Naruto felt the rush of heat as Kyuubi's chakra was pulled back into the seal and he fell into unconsciousness, the only coherent thought left was one of Itachi's welfare.

 **救うもの**

It was dark when Naruto woke and he shot up off of the Uchiha's chest, checking at the same time if he was breathing. The Uchiha appeared to be asleep – or unconscious – yet otherwise alright.

It took almost an hour, but the Uzumaki managed to get a small fire glowing and pulled out his emergency rations they had been given. He briefly wondered if his clone's replacement had been discovered and what the consequences would be when he returned to Konoha.

There were going to be repercussions; resuscitating an S-Class missing Nin who was supposedly after your hide (and not to mention part of the organisation that was led by the crazy man – established earlier due to the hats – who wanted to control the world) wasn't exactly what the council wanted.

Naruto had made his choice the moment he had seen ANBU Captain Uchiha Itachi begging the Sandaime not to reveal any of the night's events to his younger brother. It had been the moment where Naruto had finally realised the weight of Sasuke's betrayal – and the fact that that Uchiha was never coming home.

This Uchiha, however, was within reach. Naruto never had been the type to leave an innocent person without support and this was what he planned to be with Itachi; support. Naruto couldn't think of any braver person, someone who had given up everything – even his own life – for his brother. Sasuke had no idea how lucky he was to have Itachi.

The man groaned suddenly and Naruto rushed to his side, afraid he would die. Two eyes opened slowly and Itachi's gaze focused hazily on Naruto.

"I never thought death would be so dark…"

The words were raspy and almost silent yet Naruto heard them. He gripped Itachi's hand without saying anything, merely allowing the Uchiha to adjust to life again. Itachi's eyelids were fully open and Naruto stifled a gasp; both eyes were a pearly blue colour. He bit his lip, trying not to say anything until Itachi was ready. Naruto remembered from the fight between former comrades at the Valley of the End and how he had been disorientated after waking up; the nurses rushing around him had hardly helped.

It took a few more minutes before Itachi's eyes seemed to clear and they darkened slightly. He looked at Naruto and frowned,

"How did you die?"

Naruto wanted to hit the man at that moment but he knew it wouldn't exactly be the smartest of ideas. It was a reasonable assumption for someone who thought he was dead but why would Naruto be there in death too? Exactly what could have killed him?

"I'm not. Neither are you."

Itachi looked so unguarded that Naruto felt exposed. Itachi had let down the walls that surrounded him and the blond doubted that anyone (aside from his mother and Sasuke, from when Itachi was younger) had seen this side of the Uchiha.

"Not… dead?"

Naruto nodded and Itachi let his head fall to the ground with a sickening crunch.

"I just healed you!" Naruto hissed and lifted Itachi's skull up delicately. He hoped that the crazy man hadn't inflicted any more damage and was prodding at the skin gently when Itachi spoke,

"Why aren't I sick then? If I wasn't dead from that battle, I'd be dead anyway. I haven't taken any medication since before then and I can't live without it, therefore I am dead."

Naruto rolled his eyes; it was a trait both brothers appeared to have, this stubborn adamant-ness.

"Believe me, Itachi, you are not dead. I'll explain it now briefly as I'm sure you'll want to sleep a little more. You did die, technically, but the Kyuubi helped in bringing you back."

Itachi's lifeless gaze met Naruto's eyes once more and he nodded mechanically.

"Well that's unplanned."

Naruto couldn't help but nod as he watched Itachi slink back into unconsciousness.

 **救うもの**

Itachi worked mechanically after he woke. He brushed as much dirt and caked blood from his clothes as possible and managed to find a rabbit that Naruto had killed the night before, presumably. He had rebuilt the fire and cooked the rabbit, testing the little meat on its scrawny body repeatedly until it was at a state of perfection, then split the meat into two.

Itachi did everything he could think of to occupy his mind. If his mind was allowed to think, it would feel the empty lull that the Sharingan had left before he passed it onto Sasuke. The deal he had made for Susanoo was his eyes (after all, what did a dead man need with Sharingan). Sasuke had gotten the Mangekyou as well as Amaterasu. The Amaterasu had been altered to react to Madara's chakra; if Madara got to Sasuke then there was a chance that Itachi's past could be revealed and if Sasuke discovered the truth…

There was the point where Itachi considered leaving Naruto here and find a situation that would kill him but, like it or not, he was indebted to the younger man. Itachi wasn't sure how Naruto had managed - after all he did say Itachi had actually died – and he wasn't sure if the illness that had infected his body was cured or not but he was willing to bet that Naruto would be more than thankful if he stayed.

It didn't take long for Naruto to wake; as soon as his sleep hazed brain cleared, he looked over to the spot where Itachi had been laying before meeting the Uchiha's gaze over the fire.

"Here," Itachi spoke calmly and nudged the bark plate of rabbit. Naruto took the offered object and chewed on the meat.

"Thanks."

There was a strange silence between the two and Itachi decided that he didn't like it.

"Why did you… how did you…?"

Naruto swallowed the last morsel of his breakfast and placed the wooden utensil on the ground carefully.

"When that… creature vanished, I knew that you we dying. You didn't take my offer before but I couldn't let you die. There was another Uchiha there, Kyuubi was shouting something about a Madara, and he took Sasuke off before the Konoha Nin got there. I managed to slip us here before they arrived using a variation of the Yondaime's famous Ninjutsu, Hiraishin."

Itachi's stranger eyes widened and Naruto couldn't bear to look into them. The Sharingan was familiar, something he associated with Itachi, and seeing his blank face without the usual crimson orbs scared Naruto more than anything had before. The Sharingan was a constant in his life, these eyes, the unidentifiable irises, were not.

"Your heart – it wasn't beating… you weren't breathing… I couldn't-"Naruto broke off, remembering how he had almost failed to save the man opposite him. "Kyuubi helped me… Kyuubi is the reason you are alive. If you don't know of any more repercussions then I'd say the only thing that's a negative is your lifespan just got a tad bit shorter with the cellular regeneration and all. It's not so bad, really, you can't even feel anything."

Itachi looked down at his hands.

"So I really am alive then." Itachi turned his head back up to look Naruto in the eyes, "Sasuke will most likely know everything by now. Madara isn't one to beat about the bush and probably suspected I would try something like this if he was the first to find Sasuke… is your clone safe?"

If Naruto thought it odd that Itachi was acting normal after his 'death', he didn't show it. Naruto merely opened the link and revealed that yes, the clone was safe.

"What do I do now, Naruto?"

Naruto blinked at his loss of the suffix yet smiled.

"Come back home Itachi. There has to be evidence, something that will prove your innocence to Tsunade and the village. Just please… don't die again. I know we're leagues apart but, when I saw that I realised that it was you I should have been chasing after for all these years. You are the one who needs the salvation and redemption, not Sasuke. I know that you care for him but he's not the only thing worth living for."

Naruto's voice softened, "Please, Itachi, pass the script to Sasuke. It's his turn to take up his role and you need to let him. Step away from that shadow and begin again… I can help you."

Itachi almost, almost, considered saying yes. The reality came crashing down and he stood.

"Thank you for everything, Naruto."

Naruto's eyes flickered red and he snarled.

"No."

Naruto was next to him in a flash of gold, hugging him.

"I won't let go, Itachi. You can help us take down Akatsuki too, you have inside information. You can even help us get Sasuke back… even if he doesn't believe what Madara says then he'll want to find out what really happened and-"

"Naruto, Sasuke thinks I'm dead. I passed the Mangekyou to him and if he's in the company of Madara he will know this means my death. He had no idea the Kyuubi intervened and will always think I am dead. You cannot just return from the grave, Naruto."

Naruto's arms slackened and Itachi stepped away from the crude embrace. He was, once again, walking away from his duty but he couldn't stay. If he stayed he might get attached and this was certainly not an option for now. Attachments led to decisions and Itachi was sick of being the one to control the fates of what appeared to be everything. Since when had one man been the one to change the lives of so many people?

"If you don't stay for my sake, at least stay for the Kyuubi. He healed you and wishes you to repay the favour. I know that you both have a common enemy, it is a known fact that Kyuubi wants Madara dead." Naruto's voice dropped to a whisper, "if not for me, at least stay for that."

Itachi felt he had no other choice.

 **Curse**

 **an evil that has been invoked upon one**

 **のろう**

The dull crash of water hitting rocks resounded through Sasuke's head as he contemplated his options. Madara had gone; to where he didn't know – didn't care – yet he was alone again.

He could go back to the battle scene and inspect Itachi's body, but what he would gain from that he did not know. Would he be looking for a chance of redemption – forgiveness maybe – from Itachi's corpse? Now that he knew the truth a dull ache had settled in place of the hatred that had burnt for Itachi.

It was a cold fact that Itachi was innocent; far more innocent than the cherished brother he had protected for so long. The cherished son, the lone Uchiha in Konoha, was the one to betray Konoha.

Every action Itachi had taken – every neat, calculated step – head been for Konoha, for him. Itachi had been playing a dangerous game in joining the Akatsuki, even Sasuke knew it could have been a fatal move, but the Uchiha had played his part stunningly, even to his death. Itachi partner would find the corpse and inform the organisation of Itachi's dead; to them it was another closed book, nothing more.

He wondered briefly if Konoha would thank him for this act, after all Itachi was an S-Classed Missing Nin, regardless of his guilt or not. Of course this was another option; he could go back to Konoha, allow the Dobe his victory, and start the Uchiha clan again, yet he wasn't ready – would he ever be?

Dark eyes watched as the water pooled around the rocks, spraying occasionally upon his face in a cooling and soothing gesture. Team Hebi would be expecting him, he could easily return to that Team. What would he accomplish, though, what was his need for them anymore? The only useful person in his goals would be Karin and god forbid that he even let her see an inch of his skin in any situation where they were alone.

That left only one option; to remain alone. It wasn't as daunting as Sasuke had expected, sure there was the empty hollow in his chest but that would clear. Madara had made it clear what he wanted Sasuke to do and, like he had been his whole life, Sasuke would oblige and play along. It was only in his nature, after all; something that had been nurtured inside of him unconsciously by Itachi.

The Kyuubi had once said that, if Sasuke killed him, he would regret Naruto's death. That statement made sense now; Kyuubi had known this was coming.

Long ago, Sasuke had accepted that he was the lone survivor of the Uchiha Clan. Itachi had made his intentions clear, even in death it was easy to see that Itachi wanted Madara dead; why else would the Amaterasu react so strongly to Madara that it would want to kill him on sight? Itachi had planned the next motions of Sasuke's life, enough time for him to begin a new page of his life.

Sasuke stepped down from the rock he stood upon, hand resting gently on the hilt of his Katana. Peace had overcome his mind yet this was no time for private reflection. The dawn of war was approaching, the sound of war drums as loud as the crashing waves, and Sasuke knew how to begin his part; Madara's days were numbered.

In many ways it would be a eulogy to Itachi; the caring man who had devoted his life to his little brother and received nothing but hatred and isolation in return. There were so many times, too many to count, when Sasuke would have loved to know that Itachi had been innocent – and he guessed that he'd known it deep down – but there could be no other Itachi in his mind.

From the age of six, Itachi had always carried the title 'Brother who murdered the Clan' as opposed to the simple 'Brother'. It would forever remain that way, regardless of his innocence. It was who Itachi was to him, what he represented and what his actions had done.

Maybe, just maybe, if things had planned out differently he would be standing somewhere similar to here, two sets of eyes overlooking the waters as Itachi explained various properties to whatever Jutsu they were studying but that was a selfish dream, a foolish ambition that simply could not occur.

It was time to accept the discreet proposal the Kyuubi had suggested that not so short time ago; Uchiha Sasuke was going to war, but Uzumaki Naruto would be going with him.

 **のろう**

Itachi looked down at the ground as he turned back to face Naruto. The Kyuubi's motives had always been murky, hidden in the backs of minds, yet plans that were never executed.

Normal people would have feared the fox for this, his blunt proposal of plans that were beyond dangerous. Neither Itachi nor Naruto was a normal person, this much was gathered from the situation they were in now; one of the most famous S Class Missing Nin and the Konoha's most surprising – and faithful – Nin grouped together, an odd and slightly disturbing combination, one that the Kyuubi would favour.

Itachi met Naruto's eyes and flinched at the raw emotion gathered in them. It was startling to see how passionate the once idiotic man could be and even more so because all the emotion was directed at him.

"The Kyuubi says that you want Madara gone from this world. He was the only threat to your true identity and he has most likely revealed it to Sasuke; the one move you never wanted to happen. There's something else though, isn't there?"

Itachi's head nodded of its own accord and he spoke without thinking. He did not dwell on the fact that it felt so natural to answer in such a way to Naruto; he had accepted long ago that anything in relation to the blond would be abnormal, greater and magnified to proportions far from what they would be with any other human.

"The Akatsuki is governed by him. He is the one giving out orders to Pein."

Naruto bowed his head and closed his eyes. For a moment, Itachi wondered what was happening yet Naruto opened his eyes once again and spoke before he had time to question him,

"You've been inside the Akatsuki, had a chance that not even the Kyuubi had been able to acquire. The fox wants Madara dead, I think everyone wants him dead really, and you're the one person who can help. We'll fight fire with fire, Uchiha with Uchiha."

Itachi bit the inside of his cheek and half-turned away.

"I can't, Naruto. I no longer possess the Sharingan; Susanoo – the creature you saw – took it as payment and I passed the Mangekyou onto Sasuke. It's true I have other techniques yet it will not be an Uchiha against an Uchiha; it will be a Shinobi against an Uchiha… and a trained Uchiha such as Madara, even without his Mangekyou, is the winner in that battle."

Itachi looked over in alarm as a huge crack sounded. Naruto had obviously punched the tree closest to him and Itachi could see his arm shaking, fighting against the pooling red chakra.

"Damn it Itachi! Can't you see that there is no other way? It all comes down to Madara; the Kyuubi wants him dead because the fox has a huge ego and doesn't like people controlling him, Jinchuuriki – including myself – have and will die for his inexcusable reasons, Sasuke knows the truth because of him… everything links back to him."

Itachi remained silent and tore his gaze away from Naruto's blazing eyes. He could see the transformation happening already; the red seeping slowly into the blue and made no single move to stop him. Naruto needed the anger to seep out and Itachi was only surprised that he had taken so long to lose his composure. The Uchiha knew he had hardly been an accommodating speaker.

"I have trained to hunt and catch an Uchiha for almost three years. I've found you and have no intention of letting you go."

Itachi was startled at how strong Naruto's voice had become and was even more shocked to see pure sapphire eyes staring at him, no trace of red whatsoever. Itachi could do nothing but nod his head slowly.

"The Kyuubi brought me back from death for this purpose and I realise now that it is what I will need to do. I know a lot about Madara; he even taught me before the…" Itachi trailed off and Naruto didn't question this; it was obvious that Itachi no longer wished to talk about the Massacre.

"Our first step?"

Itachi smirked grimly as he thought of the one place they would acquire the correct knowledge on how to defeat Uchiha Madara. It could, potentially, be a risky move yet the dark haired man was willing to split hairs over something that could help them in the long run.

"We're going to pay a visit to some old acquaintances of mine. There's no doubt that we'll manage to get some weaponry there and possibly even bargain for a Jutsu… it will be an educational experience, no matter the outcome."

Itachi took in a deep breath and spoke,

"Well then, it's time to reveal one of the best kept secrets of the Shinobi world… tell me, Naruto, what do you know of the Ame-no-ukihashi (floating bridge of heaven)?"

Naruto's eyes were wide with the reference; he had only learnt about the floating bridge in classes and even then his attention span had been little. As shallow was his pool of knowledge concerning the ancient deities, Naruto knew that the bridge was the connection between heaven and earth.

"It's a bridge between worlds… Izanami and Izanagi churned the sea from that point."

Itachi nodded.

"That's where we're headed. It's where I made my deal with Susanoo and created Amaterasu… it's about time I returned there. I believe there is something there for you too, a sword that may suit you perfectly."

Itachi pulled his hands together before biting his thumb and placing the palm of his hand on the floor.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened in amazement as a huge black raven appeared where the smoke left. Itachi mounted the bird, sitting cross legged on its feathered back and offered a hand to Naruto.

"Thank you Itachi."

The wind almost carried Naruto's words away as the raven flapped his wings in order to become airborne yet Itachi heard them. In a silent reply, he used one arm to pull Naruto a little closer before releasing him; not touching but too close for personal space allowance.

The only sound for what seemed like hours was the wind roaring in their ears and the occasional beat of the bird's wings. When the bird changed its path and flew at a slight angle, Naruto knew that they were coming to their destination.

Sure enough, the raven broke through a layer of clouds before everything seemed to slow down, painfully slow, and then stop. A flash made Naruto close his eyes and he saw Itachi do exactly the same thing. When he reopened them, Naruto couldn't help but let the gasp slip through his open mouth.

Three gods sat on three very different thrones, looking as if they had anticipated their arrival all along. Their faces were concealed with unexplainable shadows yet their positions screamed divinity and Naruto didn't have to see their facial features to determine them as beautiful.

"Uchiha Itachi," growled the second figure, placed upon a throne with a curved back, making the chair seem as if it was either a wind or wave caught in a storm. The detail on the chair could be seen from a distance and Naruto marvelled at the beautiful and intricate patterns as they interlocked against each other.

Naruto looked at Itachi and saw the Uchiha on his knees, bowed down to the speaker.

"I would have thought that battle had finished you off for good yet here you are… and with a companion of all things. Look Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi! How delightful."

Naruto's eyes widened to pools of cerulean as the three figures finally stepped out into the light. The figure that had sat on the golden throne was a youthful woman while the man – who had been seated on a dark throne – was an equally young man. The first person to speak was revealed and he too was a striking figure and Naruto then realized that these were the gods – the three divinities Amaterasu of the sun, Tsukuyomi of the moon and Susanoo of storms and the sea.

"We have come to collect the Sword of Totsuka as well as the sword I believe to belong to my companion."

The woman raised an eyebrow at that.

"And what sword would that be? You may have honoured me in naming a technique of yours after me but do not let that think you have won us over."

The male on the left coughed suddenly and Amaterasu – the goddess on the right – wheeled round to face him.

"Just because he names his most used technique after you does not mean we all love him. Just because you have a fascination with him-"

"Oh yeah, and you don't? He created Amaterasu from scratch; Tsukuyomi was just an inherited eye technique… I'd say you were the one to worship Itachi if-"

"You've been at this ever since Uchiha came last time, will both of you just shut the hell up!"

The siblings silenced at their brother's anger yet the evil glares did not cease; it appeared even gods and goddesses held rivalries. Naruto held back his smile, knowing that it would cause more harm than good, but took pleasure in the fact that these Divinities seemed truly down to earth (if you'd excuse the pun).

"The sword is the Kogitsune-maru (Little fox)."

Naruto looked between Itachi and the three powers. Their reactions were strange; Tsukuyomi had a slight smile in place, Amaterasu looked shocked yet Susanoo had a calm look, almost as if he'd anticipated such a move.

"You believe that he is to wield the Kogitsune-maru? Any sword and you chose the one most likely to react to the Bijuu inside of him… if he turned out to be the wrong person, Uchiha, you know what could happen."

The sun goddess turned to Naruto before speaking,

"The Kogitsune-maru will never cause needless harm. If you are to wield such a sword then the Kogitsune-maru will need to recognize you itself. Inari forged this sword and knew the Kyuubi well… maybe fortune will shine on your path."

Golden eyes flickered to a direction slightly off to the side and Naruto walked away from the group, allowing the nearby shadows to group around his body. It was obvious that Amaterasu was allowing him this option; even without words her eyes seemed to command gently, asking Naruto to direct his own body where he would ultimately find the sword.

The sound of laughter greeted Naruto's ears as the surprisingly cold darkness pressed against his skin, followed by the shrill tinkle of a bell. Not a second later, a white fox halted next to him, large eyes looking up. The fox yipped, almost impatiently, and Naruto knelt down to stroke it.

Moving from the centre of its head, Naruto's hand brushed against a dark patch of fur, so dark that it appeared to be almost black. It formed a tilted cross shape at the junction between the creature's shoulders and neck

A heat grew under his hand and his stomach burned with an intensity he had never known before. The fox morphed suddenly under his touch, the cross mark becoming a sword's hilt and fitting to his palm perfectly.

"Well, well, it seems as though the Kogitsune-maru has finally found the partner she was looking for. Do not seek for unnecessary destruction for you will destroy part of the Kogitsune-maru as well as part of yourself. This sword is an extension of your soul; treat her as you would treat yourself."

Naruto gazed up at the humanoid figure and nodded his head slowly. The light faded and Naruto made his way back to the small group, the sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"She accepted you."

The voice was blunt and Naruto knew that it was Susanoo who spoke. He wasn't sure how he had returned to the gathering but the warmth of the area soaked into his skin, the sword in his hands seeming to hum in the presence of such heat. Itachi's eyes traced the path from Naruto's hand and down to the sword with a smirk on his face.

"Naruto is nothing like the demon he hosts; do you think I would be so stupid as to bring a traitor here?"

Amaterasu looked at Naruto before shaking her head slowly. She bit her lip thoughtfully before speaking,

"I see you passed my gift onto your brother… how can we be so sure he will honour the knowledge of it as you did Itachi?"

Itachi sighed before closing his eyes. Naruto looked between the gods and Itachi before speaking,

"I'm sure Sasuke will not abuse your gifts, Amaterasu-omikami."

The goddess narrowed her eyes at the full length of her name and surveyed the Uchiha once more.

"If he so much as thinks of abusing that power I shall take it from him. Amaterasu Fire is precious and was yours Itachi. Your brother may have the same blood in his veins but the technique was allowed and aided because of who you were. If he truly wants to keep it, he had better prove to us that he deserves it."

She waited for Itachi to nod, signalling that he understood what she meant in that if Sasuke kept the Amaterasu without earning it, she would forcibly take it. Of course, one way to counter this would be for Itachi to reclaim it, or for Sasuke to prove his worth.

The tall woman looked over to Naruto suddenly and a warm smile covered her lips. Stepping closer to him, she spoke gently,

"Uzumaki Naruto… you caused quite a fuss for us when you were born; Kushina-san wanted to give you over to us yet the Konohagakure elders wished you nothing to do with us. It is ironic that her son stands before us now; wielding the very sword that probably would have become his if Kushina-san had had her way. Your mother is held in high respects; the greatest thing a woman can do is offer her own child to the gods when all else seems hopeless. It is a shame that she died but nature has a path for us all and it is not in the best interests of Gods nor Humans to claim they command the dead."

Naruto bowed his head in respect for the dead; Jiraiya had long ago told him of his parentage and the fact that he was an orphan. Uzumaki Kushina had held onto her son for two days after his birth (and after the sealing) before her hands had finally slipped, lifeless, from his body and she took her last breath. There had been a disease in her blood – the doctors said – and it had been too late to identify the area and treat it.

"Itachi, you wish to reclaim the Sword of Totsuka?" Itachi nodded and Susanoo put a hand to his belt.

"Here it is then. I have contained it to a smaller gaud as I had a feeling you would come for it… take care of her will you."

Itachi kneeled and accepted the gaud. Inside it contained the Sword of Totsuka and he would be damned to hell without it; the sword had removed Sasuke's cursed seal and was the perfect counter to the Kusanagi, wherever the grass cutter may be. Along with the Kogitsune-maru, Madara wouldn't stand a chance and then Itachi would finally be allowed his redemption in the form of death.

Itachi rose fluidly and smiled slightly at Naruto. The pair bowed simultaneously and walked away. Neither of them saw the smile that played across each of the three god's lips not the warmth that the figure in the centre gave off.

It was at that last moment that Susanoo called out and Itachi stopped dead in his tracks,

"Look up to the future, Uchiha."

Itachi's eyes turned to the god in confusion yet the reaction he got was anything like the one he wanted; his eyes rolled into the back of his head and the ground came crashing upwards.

 **のろう**

The gates of Konoha had seemed so barren that day Sasuke had left yet the grey-scale of the clouds that shrouded the air made the wood seem murky, far sinister than that day had appeared. There was a lone figure at the gate and Sasuke knew he could get past them easily – if he wanted to.

Sasuke wanted to walk in there, free of henge, free of everything, and find Naruto but he knew that was just an ideal situation. The best he could do was to use his Mangekyou and hypnotize the guard before placing an elaborate Genjutsu about his body as he got inside the main city. From then, he would find the Dobe and somehow convince him to get out of the village.

The guard fell directly into Sasuke's trap and the youngest Uchiha smirked as he walked off. It was easy – a little too easy – to get into Konoha and Sasuke was honestly surprised. From the reaction he had received after leaving he had expected Konoha to be a little more prepared for such a situation.

There was one place that Naruto would be at this time; Madara had informed him of Konoha's attempts to find him and the fact that they would return to the village regardless of whether they found the Uchiha or not, and it was around noon. The street was lacking in people as the first few droplets of rain began to spill on the earth yet Sasuke paid no attention to it and headlined towards the Ichiraku ramen stand.

Upon pushing through the material that partially hid the stand from public view, Sasuke frowned; it was devoid of Naruto. The old man behind the counter looked up at the intrusion and smiled at the newcomer,

"Welcome sir. If you have time, please do sit down. I can cook you up something warm to eat on a day like this-"

"Do you know where Uzumaki Naruto is?"

The old man blinked at the interruption but he scratched his head in thought, eyes narrowing as he remembered the places Naruto had talked about, places he liked to go to think.

"In honesty, no. He would normally be here but… try the Hokage's office."

Sasuke nodded once and left without a second glance at the man, or the other person sitting quietly at the stand.

"Excuse me?"

The voice was hesitant but Sasuke recognized it; he would have known the owner in any situation.

"Is Naruto wanted for something?"

He turned and realized his mistake as the pink haired Kunoichi's eyes narrowed and she whispered,

"Kai."

Sasuke didn't flinch; he had disregarded such a useless action after Madara had finished his speech. Sakura, however, almost shot backwards, her eyes wider than dinner plates. With little effort, Sasuke regrouped the Genjutsu, glad that no one else was on the street to have seen the revelation.

"I would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself, Haruno. Now if you'll excuse me-"

Sasuke had honestly not seen the punch coming yet he would never admit it. Even Sakura seemed surprised that it had connected and she stood with her clenched fist almost at the ground, eyes hardened at her former crush.

Sasuke rose and turned his back on her; she was of little importance now, just a woman who had been on his team. A bitter voice interrupted his walking and his leg stuck to the ground, pinning him there.

"Naruto's probably on the Hokage Mountain; Yondaime's head."

Sasuke glanced back at Sakura and nodded his thanks; in return she screwed her eyes up tightly, fighting against threatening tears. Without another word, Sasuke ghosted past her and zipped towards the famous mountain.

It didn't take long to reach the Yondaime's head and, sure enough, Naruto sat at the top of the hill. The teen was dressed in black, not a single hint of orange except the spiral that adorned his chest. His eyes were blank and he did not even acknowledge the newcomer.

Sasuke sat down beside Naruto, wishing for the loudmouth to speak.

"Why have you come back Sasuke?"

Sasuke was surprised that Naruto had been able to tell it was him; the complexity of a Mangekyou Genjutsu was extremely high and no ordinary Shinobi – regardless of class – could tell it aside from the real thing. The Kyuubi really did work wonders.

"You're coming with me, Naruto."

The blond haired man didn't even blink; he remained staring emotionless at the village at his feet. It was odd to see Naruto in this mood; had everything changed when he had left Konoha for Orochimaru or was this simply an after effect of growing up? Not that he could confirm the Uzumaki was grown up, especially since the last time they'd been together.

"I said-"

"I know, Sasuke, and I'm tired of games. I'm tired of running, tired of losing people… I'm tired of life. You say you want me, Sasuke, but do you really want me?"

Sasuke looked at the younger male in confusion. Naruto rose almost mechanically and the raven haired teen followed the gesture quickly.

"I'm tired of these bonds, Sasuke. You say you want me… you're going to have to prove how far you'll go to find me."

The Naruto before him gave off an eerie smile before placing his fingers over each other in a cross before vanishing. Sasuke snarled; it had just been a Kage Bunshin, nothing more.

Naruto's words rang in his ear as he looked down at the village in hopes of seeing Naruto.

The air around him grew ever colder as rain pelted from the sky, soaking his clothes and flattening his hair. If he hadn't known that Konoha was in the heart of the Fire country, he would have simply assumed that this area was closer to Amegakure. It always seemed to rain here, no matter the situation.

A chill settled over Sasuke's body and he pulled the starchy cloak he had bought from a random merchant. The days were changing now; everything appeared to be getting closer to the final moments, whatever they may be.

Uchiha Sasuke was a man of many desires; all of which had been compressed into one. That had been a fledgling of an emotion and this had grown into hatred, loneliness and, most importantly, a goal. His one goal had been to kill Itachi with the hopes that, after this, everything would right itself in the world.

How stupid had he been to think the death of Itachi, Itachi, could have given him so much? Itachi had been his brother, had been his friend, and had been his dependant person, one who he looked up to. Even when the Uchiha clan was thriving had Itachi made sacrifices; threatening to drop an ANBU examination in favour of bargaining for Fugaku to go to Sasuke's Academy graduation.

But Sasuke knew now that it didn't matter that Fugaku had come to the graduation; what had mattered had been Itachi's part in it. Even as a teenager, only just a teenager at thirteen, Itachi placed Sasuke's welfare before his own. It was the type of unconditional love that a parent should show, that a father should show, yet Fugaku (because that's who he was now to Sasuke, not father or dad) had been little more than a man searching to overthrow a village, sons on the side.

If he allowed his mind to wander, Sasuke would most likely wonder what Itachi's childhood had been like. There had been obvious discontent for Fugaku there but what placed it there in the first place? Surely it couldn't just have been the fact that he wanted to tear the village apart.

Sasuke sighed; here he was with the only things Itachi had given him, the final gifts of a great Shinobi, fantastic liar and sacrificial brother. There was a mission to fulfil and Amaterasu's fire burned behind his eye, pooling into his stomach as he held it back.

He knew that the Amaterasu had been the cursed fate he would follow; Uzumaki Naruto was the pawn needed and his own curse would fuel Sasuke's desires.

 **Reclaim**

 **to claim or demand the return or restoration of a title, possession or right**

 **取り戻す**

Naruto looked over at his companion and sighed; there was still no sign that the Uchiha would be waking up anytime soon and the day was almost at a close. After Itachi had lost consciousness, the summoned bird had carried them to where they were now, a stone chair set upon a concrete platform. It was startlingly similar to the destroyed area that Itachi and Sasuke had fought on, even to the Uchiha symbol and the nine swirls representing the Kyuubi. It seemed Madara didn't even attempt to hide his connection to the fox; openly flaunting it and causing the seal to throb in pain as the Kyuubi smacked against the barrier, screaming bloody murder.

The sword that he had been gifted from the deities lay at his side; the blade was long and, upon sitting down, it had dug uncomfortably into his thigh. There was a constant call from the sword, a reassuring pulse that reverberated through Naruto's body. The call sounded stronger and even the fox inside of him was stilled. The air grew thicker, suddenly, and a peal of white light escaped the sword's hilt.

Naruto watched in fascination as a white fox form appeared from the light, followed by a tall human figure; like the one that had given him the sword. The light vanished suddenly yet neither the fox nor human did.

"You may be wondering, Naruto-san, who exactly we are… I am Inari."

Of course, Naruto had heard of the fox-stroke-food deity yet to have Inari before him was like a punch in the stomach. It suddenly made sense why the Kyuubi had calmed.

"In all honesty the Kogitsune-maru couldn't have chosen a better person to wield her; your soul is pure and you act from your own emotions. I'm sorry I wasn't able to talk to you in person back then but there are certain rules, only Amaterasu-omikami, Tsukuyomi-omikami and Susanoo-omikami can appear directly… we often need to pass on something to the one who we wish to see. Hence the Kogitsune-maru glowing and this fox appearing alongside me."

The face of the deity before Naruto seemed to shift and change, transforming from what couldn't really be considered a gender into a beautiful young woman.

"Is this what you would prefer to see when you talk to people?"

Naruto's eyes widened slightly and he shook his head. He was surprised that no blush rose to his cheeks yet he had a theory, one that he currently wasn't going to accept.

"Or perhaps like this?"

Inari's features changed once again, becoming far more masculine yet rugged. Naruto shook his head again, eyes growing even wider. He looked up as the woman-man chuckled to see that – she? He? – was back to the female form.

"You'll have to forgive me, the fox's mischievous behaviour appears to have rubbed off on me," she smiled and touched Naruto's hair lightly.

"I apologize for the Kyuubi's behaviour that night." Naruto had no need to question what night she meant, from the thoughtful look in her eye and the way the slight lines around her eyebrows crinkled Naruto could tell that she honestly meant the apology.

"After all these years I have wanted to see what sort of person the Jinchuuriki for the Kyuubi was and I am grateful that it is you, the one the Kogitsune-maru would select. They counterbalance one another, you know, the Kyuubi and Kogitsune-maru. Your father made a wise decision that night and the blade made one earlier."

Inari withdrew her arm from the teen's head and smiled softly at him.

"Itachi-san will most likely wake soon, you should prepare yourself. If it's anything like what I think then he may be in slight discomfort for a while. I have one last thing to mention; the white foxes are my messengers and this one," she motioned to the white fox with the grey marking on its back at her feet, "is entrusted to you. She will get your message anywhere you need it in as little time as she can… if the worst comes to worst she can even contact the three powers."

Naruto stared at the gifts as a new light was shone upon them.

"Thank you Inari-sama, I don't know what else to say."

Smiling again, Inari bent down a little and kissed Naruto's cheek softly.

"Think of it as further retribution for your tenant. It's true I love the Kyuubi as a mother would love a child but that does not excuse him for his sins… I hope that, through you, he may find a form of redemption. There is only so much a mortal body can hold."

Naruto would never have thought the word 'mortal' could ever have been used in reference to the Kyuubi no Kitsune yet he had never thought about the higher powers, powers that governed the very basics of Shinobi life. The Kyuubi was just another role – a more experienced and unpredictable one at that – in the play of life, but he was not the playwright.

"Good bye, Naruto-san. I wish you all the best."

The white light returned and the fox was taken back into the blade's hilt. Naruto noticed a small group of clear crystals, in the shape of a running fox, and returned Inari's smile. The woman closed her eyes before allowing her body to submit to the wind that had picked up, shattering her image into a thousand pieces.

The wind whispered once in Naruto's ears and he allowed his trademark grin to show on his face. True to the assumptions, Naruto's head snapped round to Itachi's figure as a pained moan escaped the elder's lips.

"This is eerily familiar eh Itachi?"

The dark haired man sat up slowly, muscles bunching together as they woke slowly from slumber. He waved a hand dismissively at Naruto before gesturing that he needed a drink.

"Here you go, take it easy. We don't need you doing too much to your body at once… speaking of which, why exactly did you faint?"

Itachi took a long sip from the water flak that Naruto had passed him and thought back to what he remembered. The last thing he could remember was Susanoo's words, 'Look up to the future,' before excruciating pain ripped through his head.

Itachi opened his eyes to look at Naruto as he passed the container back yet blinked when Naruto made no move to touch the utensil. As it hit the ground, a stone ripped into the material and water oozed from the wound, collating into a puddle at Naruto's knees.

Itachi looked at the water then back up at Naruto, wondering why the teen seemed so shocked by something.

"Naruto…?"

"It's your eyes, Itachi," Naruto replied in a disbelieving tone, "your Sharingan… Itachi, we'll be able to fight Uchiha with Uchiha after all!"

 **取り戻す**

The woman walked over the worn path, judging the previous happenings by the destruction wrought upon the earth. A butterfly hovered by her side, delicate wings beating in time with her steps. It happened quickly; the butterfly darted away in an instant and over to the clear pool of water the creator had insisted be placed in that exact position.

The butterfly rested upon the hunched back of the figure and the woman knew that she might be too late; the body showed signs of being under water for longer than possible. With deft fingers, she rolled the man over and her eyes closed in pain as she saw his face.

The butterfly shot upwards as the woman hauled the body from the water's clutches and came back to hover by her shoulder.

"There we go, now we need to check."

She placed her ear to the broad chest of the man – ignoring the blood – in order to listen for a heartbeat. Her fingers climbed up the ruined throat of the man and paused, convinced she felt a weak pulse beneath the skin; it would be enough to work with.

Wasting no time, the woman moved through a sequence of hand seals and recited the name of the Jutsu that had failed so long ago.

Maybe this time it will bode well for the receiver.

Desperately trying not to think of what it had done to the last person she used it on, purple covered hands moved over the man's body, working the chakra into the wounds the man had been dealt. She knew that this – what she was doing – was wrong by all standards but there was a connection between them; she was not one to discard the bonds she forged so fruitlessly.

The blood had finally stopped oozing out – she belatedly wondered how the man before her had not died of blood loss, after all the pool behind them was dyed a crimson colour – and the purple chakra receded back to its owner. The woman straightened before turning away from the man. For once, the butterfly remained behind, even as she took long strides away from the man and – most importantly – away from her past.

Her eyes darted back to the butterfly and she frowned. It was still there, antenna twitching slightly as the wind began to pick up. The body shivered subconsciously and the woman bit her lip in a process of making her decision.

It wasn't long before the heavy man was on the woman's back, her face taunted into a grimace at his weight. Beside them, the butterfly flew calmly the delicate wings resuming the beats they had taken before the woman had taken in the man.

 **取り戻す**

Itachi raised his fingers up to his face, smoothing over his cheekbones and the lines of his evident weariness before resting over his eyes. If Naruto's exclamation had been true then the Sharingan had returned to his eyes… something that Itachi had never thought would happen. When he made the deal with Susanoo, the clear intent had been the Sharingan for the deity. No going back, the true meaning of an eye for an eye.

Itachi hadn't told Naruto this, but without the Sharingan – when his eyes had turned cloudy – not only had the blood line been taken but so had his eyesight. Whatever diminished sight he had possessed disappeared in that instant. The only reason Itachi had been able to continue as before was because he knew; he knew he would need to utilize the deal between him and Susanoo in order to perfect his plans for Sasuke, and had been bordering blindness before. He had done the only thing possible; trained his other senses so that no one would be able to tell that he couldn't see. It wasn't as if he had expected to live after the battle yet he had known that he needed to get to Sasuke and pass on the Mangekyou before he died.

The only reason he hadn't automatically realised that his eyesight had returned was because he had adapted so far to using his other senses that sight had been brought up by his imagination. For someone who was used to manipulating his own world, imagination was a powerful thing and it had substituted for real sight.

"Uchiha against Uchiha…"

Itachi's voice was quiet but Naruto managed to pick the words up and grinned, teeth flashing in the dying light.

"Uchiha and Uzumaki against Uchiha, I- oh."

Itachi looked up at Naruto's face when he stopped abruptly and frowned when he saw Naruto's wide eyes. His mouth was open slightly, almost as if he had received terrible news.

"Itachi, I-I have to go back to Konoha… it's Jiraiya; he's gone against Pein. Tsunade told my clone that she would follow him if he needed help, but she's the Hokage; if she leaves the village-"

"The council will intervene and gain control of Konoha; an emergency protocol and the Godaime wouldn't be able to resume her roll. The Council would choose a worthy successor; we learnt all this during our inauguration to ANBU. Only the ANBU are informed but it's something that we will never forget."

Naruto nodded slowly.

"She knows the extent of my training and… Itachi what do you know of the Acceptance Clause?"

Itachi wrinkled his brow, trying to think that far back. There were so many rules one had to learn before one was accepted into the Konoha elite ranks yet Itachi had passed that particular test with flying colours.

"If the Hokage has chosen a successor and happens to leave their position – whether it be through death, injury or forceful means – the successor is always looked at further and considered as a first candidate. In times of war, the previous Hokage's judgement is to be accepted and the successor is to be granted the Hokage title almost immediately if they have been approved."

Naruto nodded; he knew the basics of the clause yet it was always helpful to hear things in greater detail. From what he had gathered via his clone, he only knew the basics of the situation. Being in the company of arguably one of the finest ANBU Captains in all of Konoha's history had more than acceptable perks.

"She chose me. She said that she was expecting to leave… that the village was crumbling from inside. It's not that she doesn't love Konoha but she values Jiraiya's life about the village's… she said especially as there are others who are more worthy of the position."

Itachi looked at Naruto, trying to gauge his reaction. Naruto's dream had always been to become Hokage yet now that his name was pencilled in next to the Rokudaime spot all he could feel was a strange sense of irony and surrealism.

Here I am with the supposed enemy while Tsunade has elected me her unofficial successor.

"There's only so much time between her telling my clone and her discussing it with the council – she needs to tell them of it as I'm sure you're aware – and what with my clone-"

Naruto stopped suddenly and took a deep breath.

"Maybe I should explain everything properly. Tsunade told me of this development (well my clone) and I went up to the Hokage mountain. He came back, Sasuke wanted me for something yet my clone dispelled itself."

Itachi nodded and without a single word rose from where he sat. Naruto looked up in question before Itachi sighed and held out a hand to his companion.

"We have no other option, Naruto. Tsunade-sama will follow after Jiraiya-sama and the Advisors will want to take over Konohagakure for good. They would choose Danzou for Hokage, even though they know he is hardly up for the position. Those three were the only ones apart from the Sandaime who knew the truth about the night I left and wouldn't dare speak the truth but they are connected together nonetheless. The Advisors will want someone who will be like putty in their hands and Danzou is such a man; all he wants is the power and even if he has to put up with domination from those two, he will do it. Danzou would never let that possibility slip; he has wanted to be Hokage ever since the Sandaime earned his title."

Naruto took the offered hand and was hauled to his feet. He had never really heard of Danzou before, only in brief mentions from the Hokage, Yamato-Taichou and Sai. The man had always seemed like a background character yet Naruto knew that his role was about to be upped.

"We're going back to Konoha, Naruto."

Naruto looked Itachi directly in his eyes; it was easier to establish the contact between pupils now that Itachi's eyes were normal again. His clouded eyes had reminded Naruto of a blind person, someone he knew Itachi had never wanted Naruto to see him as. For someone who depended so heavily on their eyes, it was a terrible curse to have the eyesight taken from you in such a way.

"We?"

Itachi nodded in return and turned to pack up the few things Naruto had got out of his bag when the Uchiha had been unconscious.

"There is one thing those three fear more than death and that is me. Do you remember after the Sandaime's death, when Kisame and I met you I Konoha? It wasn't just a move against you; it was to remind them that I was still alive. If anyone was to reveal the dirty little secret they kept, my secret, Konoha would be in shambles. Who would trust the Advisors when they've lied for so long? They want to keep their power in any way possible… the chosen Rokudaime siding with their greatest threat is something they would never have anticipated."

Itachi finally rose, everything stored away neatly in its place. Naruto was staring blankly at the man, nodding slowly in thought. There were so many emotions running through his head; worry for Jiraiya, annoyance that Tsunade would leave the village in the blink of an eye – yet this strengthened the love he felt for her, knowing that she would do exactly the same if he were in Jiraiya's position – amazement that his goal had come true, gratitude towards Itachi's plans and then the overwhelming anger that threatened to take control. He wasn't angry at anything in particular, just the situation and that his life had just become so more complicated.

It was no longer a matter of survival for any of the people involved, it was a deadly game of Russian roulette and the barrel had just been spun, coaxing the bullet into being fired. So far the shots hadn't been fatal but it was only a matter of time until one received the bullet and Naruto hoped to god it wouldn't be him or Itachi.

"I have one request," Itachi broke into his thoughts easily and Naruto nodded. "We need new clothes."

Naruto grinned in agreement.

 **取り戻す**

The woman looked out of her window and over the crying village. While others hailed it as a sanctuary, she knew that the village was weeping. The city was dead inside, merely a shallow hole of what it should be; each and every habitable space was living, breathing, living but this one. The huge buildings rose in metallic proportions and concrete had long ago covered the earth, blocking off any access to foliage that the town could have received.

The sun was low and the village had a depressive air to it – at least to her it did. She often wondered why no one else could feel the town calling out for help (she had often woken in the night, half screaming with tears rolling down her cheeks as she heard her home call out for her help), wondering if it could possibly be the fact that she was a woman… or that her company simply did not care what they did.

Her eyes looked downwards to the butterfly at the bottom of the ledge, wings stiff and antenna stilled. No matter what, each and every night they would die, wings crumbling like paper and beady eyes dulling to blackness. Regardless of the time she had once spent trying to extend the Lepidoptera's life they would all fall to death's clutches.

With shaking fingers, she gently picked up the butterfly's body and cupped it in the palm of her hand. She walked over to the side of her room where a huge glass container – almost as tall as the room from ground to ceiling and wider than a couple of meters – stood. Inside of it there were hundreds of branches leaves and even, at the bottom, a good measure of dirt, compacted to make it seem like true soil.

The woman moved to the black case propped against the glass' side and opened it skilfully with one hand. Inside there were hundreds of butterflies, each slotted into s clear pouch. It was the evidence of her hard work and she slotted the latest butterfly into its place – number 712 – before closing the black case again and flicking the catch onto the lock.

Next she turned her attention to the glass once more, unlatching the hidden catch just at the corner. It swung open silently and her eyes darted around, locating the next butterfly. It didn't take long for her to find the chrysalis, the woven silk pad attaching it to the branch. She smiled gently and allowed a slight thread of purple chakra to wake the tenant inside and watched as the pupa split.

A short time later the butterfly had emerged and now stood on the branch, wings open and drying. The woman watched in fascination (as she always did, every night without fail) as the butterfly suddenly took flight, wings changing from the tawny brown to a striking purple-blue, marking it finally as a Polyommatini. She knew it was her chakra that enforced this change yet it didn't stop her from doing anything; they were her butterflies and served more than one purpose than just looking pretty.

Each butterfly she had collected stored memories, one butterfly for every day. Their 'jump-start' with her chakra (coupled with the fact the glass was forged with her chakra and all the foliage had been subjected to complete coverage by her chakra before it went in) linked them directly to the woman.

As the butterfly fluttered over to the window, a sight she had seen many times before caught her eye. There was a reason why she had brought ants into her butterfly environment and that was the care they showed towards the caterpillars. Even though there was no danger to them, the butterflies still showed natural behaviour, sending out vibrations to the ants to 'ask' for their protection. In return the caterpillars gave them the honeydew they secreted; a fair trade.

Her attention turned to her bed next, or rather the man upon it. She had cleaned him of blood and found some garments for him to wear, dismissing all the metal he had insisted to wear – some of it from way back then. She had removed the book he kept in his pocket and thumbed through a couple of pages before placing it on the table, next to his blood stained equipment. When she had removed his top garments to reveal the bloodied chest, her hand had lingered a little while over the huge scar there, pondering on how he could have gotten it. He had never been the sort to be grievously wounded – his name was proof of that – and she knew he wasn't one to make judgments that would get him killed… aside from the one she had found him in.

It was ironic that this man was here clothed in white much like an innocent person. She knew he wasn't innocent, he had promised so much before turning without a trail. It had hurt; even now there was a dull ache from that time, but for other reasons added to his leave. She would prove to him that he had made one mistake when he left but, above that, she would prove that she had survived and moved on.

It wasn't like a butterfly to regret the short life it was given.

 **取り戻す**

There was a little town roughly three hours walk from where they had been resting. Itachi informed Naruto that the battle where he and Sasuke had fought was one of four Uchiha hideouts. The one the Uchiha brothers had destroyed was the Western hideout and the one they had just come from Itachi reckoned was the North. The raven that had delivered them there had been to the Northern hideout before and Itachi knew that the raven would most likely have returned to a place it knew.

There was little conversation on the road; each man walked with his own thoughts and plans. Naruto wondered what his reception in Konoha would be; the Council would most likely want to talk to him as soon as he stepped inside the village's boundaries. Then there were his friends; they would want to know where he had been (there was no doubt that they couldn't have noticed Naruto's presence missing from Konoha) and how exactly he got away. And then there was the dreaded question; why?

"Itachi… what will I tell everyone when I get back? They'll want to know why I slipped away from them."

Itachi's dark eyes looked into Naruto's and the Uzumaki smiled softly. Itachi found his mouth quirking at the edges and a true smile, something he hadn't done possibly since Sasuke was young, found its place on his features. Naruto gasped and Itachi's face fell back to the usual stoic expression.

"Don't do that! Come on, smile again!"

Itachi frowned; it appeared nothing could ward off the boy's natural bounce. Sure it had diminished under the Toad Sannin's tutelage but it was an essential part to Naruto; something that wouldn't just be thrown off so easily. If it had been anyone else, Itachi would have glared, but this was Naruto,

"Give me a reason to and I will. The town is just up there, do you have money?"

Naruto blinked at the sudden change in conversation but nodded his head slowly, hands reaching into the pouch on his hip. He was thankful that he had the brains to refill Gama-chan before the mission and, as it was, the little frog was full of hard earned money.

"What do you think you'll get?"

Itachi chuckled in a way that made Naruto shiver.

"I was planning on choosing both of our outfits, Naruto. I do believe that the Advisors and even Danzou himself haven't experienced enough heart attacks for their age. I'm going to show them that you are indeed your father's son… and the true successor to the title they so wish to claim."

Naruto glanced at the Uchiha and was slightly disturbed by the slight smirk on his lips. Naruto knew from experience that any Uchiha and smirking never bode well for the victim (which would be him at this current point in time) and Naruto suddenly wished he had told Itachi to get the clothes alone.

Instead, Naruto smiled, albeit somewhat nervously, and linked his hands behind his head. It had been a while since he had been out of the village like this; in the lull between events, doing something so ordinary that is seemed unordinary. Sure shopping was a necessity of life but Naruto almost never had time for simple things like that, and the fact that he was doing it with his former best friend's brother (who was a psychopathic killer in the population's eyes) almost made the scene laughable.

Itachi took one look at the row of shops when they arrived and entered one shop halfway down the line. In doing so they passed a few food stores and Naruto was practically watering at the mouth by the time they had finished. As he opened the door, Itachi leant in slightly to Naruto and whispered the words that Naruto had always wanted to hear;

"We'll get something to eat after this."

Of course what Itachi didn't mention was 'if they had any money left.'

The shop attendant whizzed over, tape measure balanced around his shoulders. He nodded curtly to the Uchiha and gave a little smile to Naruto.

"Hello sirs, what can I do for you?"

Naruto opened his mouth yet Itachi beat him to it,

"I'm looking for some tailor made clothes, basic Shinobi attire as well as two cloaks; one with a high collar and one with a hood. Preferably all clothes would be black but the collared cloak would be able to have something printed on it."

The man nodded and Naruto watched as he whisked out a notepad, jotting down everything.

"I'll take your measurements now then, please come over here."

If Naruto hadn't known that shop assistants possessed super speed, he would have thought that the man knew Kage Bunshin. He was literally everywhere, his measuring tape flying about and the pen scratching against his pad as he wrote down Naruto's measurements. The man asked for them to sit down on the chairs located at the side of the shop before darting off to the back halls. As the town was a civilian town, the Shinobi attire was kept in the back so as to make room for the latest clothes that the people of the village would want.

Itachi tapped his foot gently against the floor after he crossed his legs, waiting for the man's return. They didn't have to wait long; the man was back with a set of clothes on hangers.

"These would fit your size; I had Seiko-chan alter them with her chakra just now. If you would just try them on – and the cloak, I'll get Seiko-chan out here to fit it to your needs – we can move onto your partner."

Naruto nodded, thinking nothing of the man's words. Itachi's eyes had turned sharply at the man before lightening in humour; if the man thought that they were together in that way then he could think that. It didn't bother Itachi; he was comfortable with his sexuality, even if he had had no other lover excepting Shisui.

The clothes fit perfectly and the man, true to his word, brought out a brown haired woman to alter the cloak. Itachi had them take it up until it rested just below the backs of Naruto's knees and the sleeves just before the crease of his elbow. Itachi was surprised Naruto hadn't caught his intentions yet; this cloak would be a striking reminder to the council that Naruto was Namikaze Minato's legacy; the son of Yondaime and rightful heir to the Hokage name.

Itachi discussed the pattern in private with the woman before she waddled off and allowed the man to take his own measurements. His clothes, too, fit perfectly and he smiled as the clean material touched his skin.

"Although I would have preferred something orange, I have to say that you have brilliant taste Itachi. I never knew black could feel so… nice."

Itachi was about to say that you couldn't technically feel colours but was interrupted by the arrival of Seiko-chan. The woman held the cloak and Itachi almost smiled at Naruto's expression. It was almost the exact replica of the Yondaime's own cloak, orange fire curling at the bottom. Where the Kanji for 'Yondaime Hokage' had been on his father's, Naruto's cloak held the two characters that formed the name 'Namikaze'. Not only did it apply to Naruto's heritage, it also accounted for his affinity with wind.

"I-Itachi…"

Itachi took the cloak from the woman's podgy hands and passed it to the owner. With a nod of his head, he slipped Naruto's frog from its position in the bag at his hip and walked over to the counter, leaving Naruto staring at the garment.

"Thank you very much sir, is that all?" When Itachi nodded his head, the man gave the price and Itachi counted out the money. He was thankful that they had left over money for food; the rabbit they had the day previously could hardly have been called a meal then and the whole resurrection thing kind of took a lot out of you.

He bid a farewell to the man and donned his own cloak, leaving the hood down at the present time. Naruto had placed the cloak about himself by the time Itachi got back and the Uchiha had to admit that the man radiated power now; from what he could remember about the Fourth it was that he had an amazing aura, something he had passed onto his son.

Naruto gave an uncertain grin and Itachi mirrored it with a smile.

"See smiling isn't that bad!"

Itachi passed the frog back to its owner and tilted his head to the door,

"Food?"

Naruto grin widened and he took Itachi's hand, startling the Uchiha slightly. The man behind the desk nodded knowingly as he watched the two customers go; whatever situation they had, something had hit hard and they were probably the only two who would console each other. With a slight smile, the man scratched the back of his head before remembering what Seiko had printed upon the cloak,

"Could it be…?" he mused aloud before barking out a laugh; it was an odd coincidence that the cloak they had just made for the man came from the same shop as the Hokage robes the Yondaime himself had worn.

Outside the shop, Naruto walked with a slight spring in his step. Even though he had been told of the Rokudaime-plan (as he had named it now) it hadn't felt real to him. This cloak was everything he had hoped for; when Uzumaki Naruto returned to Konoha he would not just take the position of Hokage from the Three Oni (again as he had named them) but claim his title and show the village that he was no longer the demon brat they wished him to be.

As Itachi pushed open a door to a food hall, Naruto brushed past him with a smile. His eyes lingered on Itachi's face long enough to see the smile that was returned and knew in that instant that he would be the only one ever to see so much of Itachi as he had.

And he still didn't know if that was a good thing or bad thing.

 **取り戻す**

The butterfly shot upwards as the man's body jolted. The woman smiled from her place at the window and slipped off of the frame slowly, eyes roaming over her patient's body, checking to see if any of the bandaged wounds had opened up again.

That was the good thing about wearing white; the blood was easily detected and she would be able to see it. It was a cruel thing that her attire was dark yet she knew who she had to thank for that; the very man who put her patient in this condition.

"Hey there, don't try too much at once, take it slow."

The man's eyes opened slowly and dark clouded eyes began to focus. When he saw her he instantly recognised her and his eyes widened, mouth opening and closing. His hand found a way up to his throat and she knew that the wound inflicted upon his throat had ceased his means of communication through vocalisation.

"I know you can't talk but I'm not here to hurt you. I want you to heal and then… well I'll talk to you about it later. I don't know if someone would come to you if you asked for help… we'll do that when you've healed a little more."

The man nodded and she tore her eyes away from his lips, seeing them form her name hurt a little too much.

The man reached a shaking hand out and touched her arm; she knew it was his way of expressing his gratitude. She patted the bandaged hand once before rising from the bed and taking up post by the window sill. His breathing slowed and evened yet it was only when the butterfly settled back on his hand that she knew he had fallen asleep.

 **Legacy**

 **anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor**

 **遺産**

It wasn't raining but the sky still took on the look of clouds that were about to dump their load, Naruto mused. The sky was grey – not even a hint of white amongst the ceaseless clouds – and there was a chill to the air that whispered a promise of rain.

Itachi pulled the hood up as soon as they crossed back into the fire country's border (the town had been situated just over the border line) and neither had talked since. The very few passersby gave them an odd look before carrying on; it was almost nightfall and with the Akatsuki on the move, not to mention other Missing Nin who had taken the time to group together, life became just that bit more deadly.

"We'll arrive in Konoha before the rain hits. It shouldn't take too long and I would suggest running though that would highlight our entrance. The Advisors would want us to enter like that; as any normal Shinobi, but we need to remember that we cannot simply be normal Shinobi. We have to be a step ahead if we want to secure Konohagakure as a safe hold."

Naruto nodded and the thoughts brought on by Itachi's words stored themselves in his brain.

"You're saying that we need to act like the heads of our clans then?"

Itachi's eyes glowed slightly as he activated the Sharingan and set the tomoes whirling. A thrill of excitement coursed through Naruto's body as he met those eyes, resisting the call of slumber they held deep within.

"I am very glad that you shrugged off your idiotic tendencies. Does anyone aside from Jiraiya-sama and Hokage-sama know of this?"

Naruto shrugged, "They never asked so I never told. I play the part I was assigned when I met them and live up to the name of my thirteen year old self. They need no reason to suspect me so I will give them none… though when they find my clone is gone from Konoha that could raise a few questions as how I managed to slip past them all…"

Naruto gave a low chuckle before swinging his hands behind his head and locking them. It was amazing what a little time and nurturing a relationship such as this could do.

"Say Itachi… we don't really know each other do we?"

Itachi grunted in answer.

"I thought, seeing as we'll be spending a lot of time together and stuff, that it would be nice to find a bit more about each other." Naruto bit his lip, "Though you probably know a lot about me, being part of the Akatsuki and all."

Itachi rolled his eyes in the depths of his hood but replied,

"I'm twenty years old, twenty one in June. I graduated from the Academy at the age of seven, mastering the Sharingan one year later, before becoming a Chuunin at ten. I carried on ascending through ranks before reaching the position of ANBU Captain only two years after my Chuunin, at twelve years. After that, I obtained the Mangekyou Sharingan and the rest you know. In all truth, Naruto, there is little to know about my life.

Naruto looked over at Itachi; in all honesty he didn't think the man would have told him anything about his personal life but he was grateful. And although he wanted to disagree with what Itachi said in regards to little bring known – for Itachi was the mystery of all mysteries, a person who was shrouded in such puzzlement – yet could not bring himself to say it, opting instead to reply,

"I'm sixteen years old, graduated at the age of twelve after three consecutive failures. Managed to master the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu in one night, Rasengan over an approximate period of one month, excluding the time it took to singlehandedly use it, and my variation of the Hiraishin no Jutsu is currently still a work in progress." Quirking an eyebrow, Naruto smirked, "From there, I'm sure you know the rest."

Itachi nodded at the repetition of his words and allowed the smile to catch daylight, exposing it for Naruto.

"Thanks Itachi. I mean, it's not important but I just…"

"Naruto, why did you save me?"

The air around them grew thicker and their tense silence was only interrupted by the foot falls as they walked.

"I've been looked at as a monster for so long for something that I had no control over. I am a Jinchuuriki – a human sacrifice – but you are too; you think that turning your back on Sasuke and killing your family equates to nothing? Not only that but you risked everything, everything, in joining the Akatsuki… even begging the Sandaime to lie about the true reasons behind your actions. In a Shinobi's world there are no second chances, I don't know how many times I've been told that, but I wanted to try. If anyone deserves it, Itachi, it's you."

Itachi remained silent before placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. There was no need for speech; actions spoke louder than words after all. The palm of Itachi's hand rested against the moving shoulder before sliding down and falling to the Uchiha's side.

"What about Madara?"

Itachi glanced at the blond from the corner of his eye before closing both eyes.

"He'll have to wait. You said that the clone told you that Sasuke was looking for you and this must mean he wants you. If we find out what he knows and why he wants you then it could well aid our cause."

Naruto replied softly, "There's another reason isn't there."

The inclination of Itachi's head agreed.

"Madara hates Konoha; he will never forget the rivalry between the Uchiha and the Senjuu clans. He may have built the village alongside them, taking the Shodai Hokage as his friend, but Hashirama was no fool and he defeated Madara at the Valley of the End. Madara always wanted to take revenge upon Konoha and if Sasuke becomes his pawn... we know what might happen and the three-"

"Three Oni. That's what I called them for practical reasons," Naruto nodded sagely, arms crossed over his chest and Itachi stared at the man with a worried look upon his face. Why the hell Naruto would think of the demonic ogre-like creatures as the Advisors seemed bizarre but it was easier to refer to them as such.

"The Three Oni then would most likely bargain with Madara to get as high as they could in the ranks of life. Madara would offer them complete rule over something in his 'new world' and they would take it like fools.

"And believe it or not, the one thing that Madara fears is Konoha; to him it represents all of his failures and weaknesses, a visual scar in his life. He will come to Konoha, have no doubt about that, and we shall get him then."

Naruto hadn't realised how long they had been talking for yet took a sharp intake of breath when he noticed that the gates had drawn closer; the wooden frame just jutted out over the trees ahead.

"Itachi I don't think-"

"You've been waiting your whole life to claim the village, Naruto. Yondaime-sama would have wanted this and Tsunade-sama knows you are more than capable. You won't be alone, I'll help you and I'm sure that when Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama return, they could replace the Advisors. For now we just have to counter the Three Oni, not rule Konoha. I classify this as a time of war and wartime Hokages need to first fight the enemy; whether it is internal or external."

Naruto let the held in breath out and his shoulders slumped.

"You know what, Itachi; I think that you should become a public speaker or something. You can be bloody persuasive and stuff… plus you include all the long winded mumbo-jumbo that only attentive listeners understand. I think I can do it with your help; the village needs us."

The guards at the gate saw the two figures and called into the darkness.

"It's Uzumaki Naruto and friend."

"Naruto? I thought you came back with Kakashi-san and Yamato-san?"

Naruto instinctively raised his hand to rub the back of his neck and Itachi remained silent, eyes hidden yet regarding the two officers carefully in case they deemed him to be a threat.

"I did but it's a long story… look, I have to go see Baa-chan and you know how she gets when she's angry."

Both Chuunin visibly flinched and Naruto suppressed a smirk. He waved a hand but Izumo's voice cut in,

"Who exactly is your friend, Naruto?"

Before Naruto could reply, Itachi had whipped the hood down to reveal unfamiliar features.

"I am a friend of Naruto-kun's that he met whilst travelling with Jiraiya-sama. He told me that he'd show me the village he grew up in one day and our paths happened to cross. With all the terrible stuff with Oto and all we both agreed that there is no time like the present."

Naruto concluded that Itachi was a damn good actor and the guards smiled and waved them on.

"That was pretty risky," Naruto hissed at Itachi's side as the hood was pulled back up.

"We've all taken a lot of risks, Naruto, and the future will be no exception. Take us to Lady Tsunade!"

Naruto stopped dead when he heard Itachi's slight exclamation, Itachi's voice had risen to a slight high at the end. The Uzumaki looked around just to check that everything was alright in the world (it was likely that the apocalypse could occur anytime soon with Itachi acting abnormal and stuff) yet found not a single disturbance.

The street was almost devoid of life as the first rain drops fell down. Naruto looked upwards before tucking his head further down into his shoulder, shrugging his collar upwards to provide some form of protection against the water. Although he loved the cloak, there was a slight draw back as opposed to Itachi's in that the Uchiha could remain hidden and dry.

Thankfully the Hokage tower was only a short time away and they managed to walk the distance with little rainfall covering them. As expected, Itachi made no move to take off the hood and they walked in silence to the Hokage's office. Naruto knew she would be there; his clone had seen the way she had looked earlier that day and Tsunade was in for a night's haul of work.

They passed the wide eyed onlookers with as much dignity as they could muster and Naruto tried his hardest to block out the whispers that formed behind his back, claims that the Yondaime was back. Itachi's arm brushed against his and he smiled at the Uchiha, knowing full well that – despite the hood – the man could see him perfectly.

There were no guards at the Hokage's door, only Shizune. She nodded to Naruto and frowned at his companion yet Naruto nodded and she relaxed.

"Tsunade-sama has been expecting you Naruto…-sama."

Naruto's blue eyes widened at the suffix and he felt the blood rush up to his cheeks. He had never been one to use authorative respect upon others and it felt odd to be reminded that he would now be addressed as such. Did all Hokages feel like this at first? Had his father felt like this?

"Shizune-nee-chan, you can't call me that! It's weird… you'll always be a sister to me, even if I do become the Rokudaime."

Shizune smiled and hugged Naruto.

"You look so grown up, Naruto. I know you understand the work the Advisors and Danzou will put against you but there is no one better suited… we best go in, Tsunade can discuss the matter further."

Shizune took a key from her pocket and unlocked the door, ushering the men inside. Once the black haired woman had stepped inside, she locked the door behind her and pocketed the key again. Tsunade looked up at Naruto and smiled lovingly.

"I remember you when you were an idiotic Genin… and now I find out that you've been playing us for fools all along! You are truly unpredictable and this is just what we need against the-"

"Three Oni," chanted Naruto and Itachi at the same time. They looked at one another and Naruto broke into a chuckle, Itachi merely smirking.

"I suppose that's the nickname you blessed them with then eh? Well okay then the Three Oni was informed that you would take the position when I leave… who is your companion?"

Naruto cocked his head and turned to look at Itachi slowly. Itachi saw the question forming on Naruto's features and took a step forward, communicating he wished to explain. Naruto smiled in relief; it would be far easier than him trying to explain everything.

When the hood came down, the Hokage's jaw fell open and Shizune took a step back, both female's eyes widening considerably. It was Tsunade that was the first to recover,

"You are supposed to be dead. Team Kakashi and the others reported that you were dead, they said they thought your body had been taken for disposal by the Akatsuki."

Itachi inclined his head, "I was dead but Naruto saved me."

Tsunade's eyes bugged even more but Itachi raised a palm and began to explain,

"I need to explain a few things before we deal with questions, as it stands only four living people know of this truth, the two Advisors, Danzou and Naruto. Sandaime-sama was the other person to know but it died with him." Itachi took a deep breath,

"The Uchiha clan was planning a Coup d'état upon Konohagakure and I was ordered as the ANBU spy in the Uchiha compound. When they were found guilty of the crime, I was given orders to slaughter the entire clan. Sasuke was the only person I was unable to kill but I couldn't have had him grow up to despise Konoha… not when I love this village so much."

Itachi's eyes drifted over to the window and he closed the space between him and the glass, pressing a hand against the pane.

"I begged the Sandaime Hokage for the truth to be concealed from Sasuke and joined the Akatsuki so I could keep a track on their actions. I met with Naruto before the fight with Sasuke and he saw the truth through the Mangekyou as he accused me of lying. It reminded me of the time I had to beg for another to lie on my behalf and Naruto… Naruto… Naruto wanted to help me but I refused and went to my death."

Itachi ceased talking, the words dying in his throat.

"The Kyuubi helped me to bring him back to life and heal him; I couldn't condemn an innocent man… not when he did so much to protect Konoha and Sasuke."

Tsunade was startled by the tale and looked at Naruto as he finished for the Uchiha.

"I'm afraid to say that we need verification, Itachi-san," Shizune spoke, her voice quiet and reserved. Itachi suddenly pulled his hood up as a harsh tap on the door interrupted them and Shizune ran over to open it.

"I'm afraid Hokage-sama is busy and she-"

"Get out the way girl! We need to talk to the Hokage immediately. Tsunade, the Uzumaki is reported to be missing from the village, if we do not- Y-you?"

The Sharingan whirled in Itachi's eyes as he smirked at the two Advisors.

"I believe this is enough proof, Tsunade-sama."

 **遺産**

There was only one place that Sasuke could go and that was to the Haruno residence. From the time back when they were Genin, Sakura had told him every detail of her house and it was now that he was thankful; somehow it had stored in a part of his brain he hadn't even known existed. With a look at the large house he walked in the growing darkness round to the right side of her house and to the top window. With a glance around he knew that it was clear outside and slipped in through the partially opened window.

It was now just a matter of time and he sat on the wooden chair by Sakura's desk. Her room contained the necessities of a woman's life; mirror, make up, a CD collection and player as well as multiple scrolls, books and even posters about the human body and aspects of healing. Sasuke found himself engrossed in the poster of the brain as the door opened and Sakura's voice called a good night to her mother. The woman turned and a hand rose to her heart as she saw Sasuke.

"Sasuke!" her voice was a whisper and she walked closer to the man. She shut the door hastily behind her and glared at the man. "What the hell are you doing!"

"It was a Shadow Clone. I want to know where Naruto is and I need your help in that."

Sakura looked at Sasuke with surprise evident in her eyes. The Sasuke she knew wouldn't have ever asked for help. But then again, the Sasuke she knew hadn't just killed the only family he had.

"You'll need a disguise then… can your Sharingan maintain that?"

Sasuke nodded and he closed his eyes to reveal the face he had used before. Sakura gestured to the window and the pair slipped out with ease.

"I hope you know how much I am risking here, turn left."

The rapidly sinking sun allowed the pair to stay hidden in the shadows as they looked for their missing team member, even trying Ichiraku ramen and Naruto's house twice.

"Sasuke… stay here. I'll go check with Iruka-sensei and then Tsunade-sama."

Sasuke nodded his head and shot upwards to conceal his body between the branches of a large oak tree. Sakura ran towards the academy building, knowing Iruka would be there at this time (the man always told her team when he would be staying late at the academy, for Naruto's benefit if anything) and hoped that he knew where the Uzumaki prankster was.

"Iruka-sensei!"

The brown haired Chuunin smiled warmly at her as he placed the keys to the academy gates in his pockets.

"What can I do for you Sakura?"

"Have you seen Naruto at all?"

Sakura's heart plummeted as Iruka frowned and shook his head.

"Sorry, not today. Have you tried Ichiraku?"

Sakura knew the Chuunin would worry himself to death if she told him that she couldn't find the teen and an easy lie slipped from her mouth,

"I always forget, of course! Thank you Iruka-sensei!"

Instantly Sakura ran towards the Hokage tower; the last place Naruto would be was the tower. There was nowhere else for him to be except the training areas and even Naruto wasn't as stupid to sleep in the outdoors when he knew that rain was coming.

The first drops of rain fell just as Sakura got into the tower and she praised her luck. Without missing a beat, the woman ran towards Tsunade's door and stopped before Shizune.

"Shizune-san… is Naruto in there?"

The woman shook her head before speaking,

"Tsunade-sama is waiting for a meeting with someone of high importance and I haven't seen Naruto since earlier. Have you tried Ichiraku?"

Sakura shook her head before walking onwards, tears threatening to fall from her eyes as the last hope flickered.

"Naruto…"

"Excuse me, Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

Blinking through the tears, Sakura looked up to see the withered face of Utatane Koharu, one of the Hokage's advisors.

"Utatane-san, I don't know how to say this…" She choked out a sob, "It's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto, I can't… I can't find him anywhere – I tried Ichiraku and oh god where is he?"

Koharu's mouth tightened and her face drained of colour. She comforted the girl with soothing words yet her mind was milling through the worst case scenarios that could occur from this revelation. If only Tsunade had banned Naruto from leaving the village… if the Akatsuki got hold of the Uzumaki now then everything would crumble.

"If you'll excuse me, Sakura-chan, I will go and inform Hokage-sama. You go home and rest."

Sakura nodded dumbly and wiped the tear stains from her cheeks. Although the tears had dried, the aftershocks still wracked her body and if anyone chose to inspect her careful enough they would clearly see the red eyes the tears had left as a gift.

She walked slowly down the corridor, glad that no one commented on her state. She heard the voices around her whispering and she looked up to find a group of women she had become friendly with during her time training in the Hokage tower.

"Sakura-chan! Did you see him? Everyone says it's the Yondaime even though his cloak was a different colour… ah, of course! You won't remember Yondaime-sama, not that it really matters, but it could have been him! Seriously, couldn't it girls?"

The other women in the group gathered round, nodding in agreement. Sakura found it amusing that a couple of them were around her age; if she didn't remember the Yondaime Hokage then they surely hadn't either – so why were they nodding as if they knew from experience of meeting the man.

"The cloak even said 'Namikaze'," said one woman, a smug smile on her face.

"What does the Namikaze have to do with anything?"

Sakura looked between the women as the smug smile was wiped off of one of their faces.

"Namikaze was the Yondaime-sama's clan name. That man has to be linked to the Yondaime somehow, if not the Yondaime himself!"

Sakura bit her lip, "Didn't the Yondaime-sama die fighting against the Kyuubi?"

The women fell silent and they sighed.

"She's right…"

Sakura politely excused herself from the group and continued her walk. As soon as she stepped outside, the rainfall seemed to increase. By the time she was back at the tree Sasuke was perched in, her hair was clinging to her face in pink strands (mingling with the tears that had begun to flow) and the clothes were almost like a second skin.

"Where is he?"

Sasuke's voice was like a knife and she stepped closer to him, close enough to hit his chest softly as she spoke,

"He's gone Sasuke… no one knows where. He's gone and it had every fucking thing to do with you."

Sasuke drew back, eyes wide at her proclamation. Sakura had never been one to swear so violently and out of thin air; sure she had insulted Ino but that had been playful banter. This was a vicious tongue that she laid into Sasuke. She could easily blame everything on him, it seemed and his lip curled in distaste.

"Fine, you've just proved your usefulness. Not only did I leave you but even the Dobe has gone now… what do you think we're trying to say Sakura?"

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke's chest came into contact with her back.

"Thanks for everything Sakura but you've just wasted my time and got in my way. Do you understand now why I cut those bonds? They're useless to me."

Sakura knew what was coming next and she closed her eyes in preparation for the blow that would knock her unconscious.

She wasn't disappointed.

 **遺産**

Koharu looked at Itachi with disgust.

"You dare show your face now? You've been claimed as a dead man, Uchiha, and you will not leave here alive."

Tsunade stood suddenly and the room quietened. Itachi allowed the Sharingan to fade and Koharu's chest rose and fell dramatically as she struggled to breathe.

"Koharu-san, please sit here," Shizune gestured to a chair and lead the old woman over to it.

"I am here to assist the Rokudaime when we are needed. We know what you plan to do and have taken a vow that Konoha will never fall into your hands. Namikaze-san will not give up his birthright so easily."

At the mention of the name, Koharu's eyes darted to the Yondaime's portrait and her lips rose into a mocking smirk.

"The Yondaime is dead, Itachi. You may have avoided death but no one can escape the Shinigami stomach."

It was Itachi turn to smirk and Naruto turned around to show the back of his cloak off to the woman. The orange characters burned into her irises and she narrowed her eyes.

"Namikaze Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage. If you do not believe us then I'm sure Godaime-sama will bring out the birth certificates," Itachi outstretched his arm and was greeted by a birth certificate.

"I had a feeling we would be needing it, so I've been keeping it in my drawer."

Koharu's nostrils flared as she read the parchment before her.

"Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina… very well then. Itachi we will keep your secret for now, Konoha would be in shambles if they found out everything; including the fact that you are alive. This is in no way over, he may be the Namikaze heir but there will be a time when you will slip, you will slip and we will rise."

The door was shut with a tremendous slam and the occupants of the room looked at one another.

"That went rather well," Tsunade said dismissively. Naruto rolled his eyes before taking the chair that the Advisor had left and draping his legs over the arm.

"So what do you plan to do Baa-chan?"

The Hokage rubbed her eyes before sitting back in her chair and folding her hands over one another.

"In a couple of days I will leave everything to you and go find Jiraiya. I want you to do the best you can to eradicate those corrupt Advisors and Danzou… ROOT too if you can. I fear we are at the brink of the war and I am just a powerless old fool; whereas you… you have unimaginable power Naruto. Jiraiya told me every detail of your training and I can no longer claim the title of Hokage knowing this."

She stretched her neck from each side before continuing.

"I was going to follow Jiraiya anyway; we both know that he is dealing with forces bigger than what one man can take on. I'll do as much as I can and take out as many Akatsuki on the way as possible… Itachi your help will be needed when discussing that."

Itachi nodded.

"If I left without an heir then the village would rot in a matter of seconds. Your father was the strongest Hokage, stronger even than the Shodai. If anyone could prevent the war and destroy Konoha's threats it would be you, his legacy.

Naruto looked down at his hands and tightened them into fists.

"There is one more reason, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade looked directly into Naruto's eyes; he was no longer playing a child's game and the new title showed this. "Uchiha Madara will come for the village and we will be the ones to stop him."

"Madara…? I think you had better keep that aspect to yourselves… to discuss such a plan for all to hear now could be dangerous. My grandfather fought Madara and defeated him; I can only hope you will do the same."

Naruto nodded his head and swung his feet off of the chair's arm. He stood and Itachi moved to his side. Neither spoke but they looked at the Hokage and she almost flinched at the determination in both of their eyes.

"You two will make a beautiful team."

Naruto blinked at the statement whilst Itachi's stare never wavered. Tsunade fought the urge to laugh as she walked over to the window and looked out to the darkness of the village.

"Thank you, Naruto. I never really thanked you for bringing me here did I? The last years I've spent here have been some of the best," she glanced at Naruto from the corner of her eye, "and some of the worst."

The Uzumaki chuckled at that and ran a hand through his hair.

"What will you tell Konoha?"

Tsunade's eyes grew serious and she turned to look at the pair, back resting against the glass.

"There are two options; I announce you as the Rokudaime and then leave. This one will be-"

"Impractical as you need time to train up a Hokage and Naruto has only recently returned from a three year absence. No higher Shinobi would trust this judgement and you would be in the face of prejudice once again."

Tsunade nodded at Itachi's words.

"The second option would be for you to be discovered as the Rokudaime after I leave. The Advisors themselves would have to announce you – a blow to their pride – yet they would have no choice but to back you up unless they wanted certain rules imposed upon them. To disobey the automatic heir in a time of approaching war is an offence, one punishable by the terms of treason."

Shizune suddenly approached the group with cups of tea and they took them eagerly. The meeting had gone on for longer than any had anticipated yet they knew it wouldn't be enough. There would never be enough time for what they needed to discuss.

Turning his back on the group, it was Naruto's turn to pad over to the glass window and he pressed his forehead against the cool material. Blue eyes scanned the horizon and caught the first rays of sunlight; wincing as he took note of the colour,

Red sky in the morning, Shepherd's warning.

 **Stalemate**

 **A situation in which further action is blocked; a deadlock**

 **手詰り**

The rising sun bore a warning over Konoha and Sasuke smirked as a falcon rose from the darkness, cutting across the sun's path. A harsh cry came from its beak, echoing around the area. The sunlight reappeared as the bird nose-dived down to the ground, plummeting as if it had been struck, yet Sasuke knew this was not the case and he lifted his head a little as the bird resurfaced from the shadows, a small cluster of darkness shadowing its beak.

The tree Sasuke had been resting in glowed orange as the rays of light hit it and he jumped from the tree smoothly, legs touching the ground and absorbing any impact. There was someone near – a presence he knew – and he waited for the confrontation.

"It has been only a short while, Sasuke, yet I can tell you're pining for my blood."

The orange mask glowed disgustingly bright in the sun and Sasuke looked away so as not to be drawn into the black hole of the mask. He gritted his teeth as the heat of the Amaterasu burnt a pathway from his stomach up to the left eye and fought to control the flames before they leapt out of his will; it was a painful process but he suppressed them successfully.

"There was one more thing I forgot to tell you, Sasuke. It may be of importance to you, it may not, but I want you to hear me out before you act."

An arm encircled his shoulders as Madara moved to place his mouth at Sasuke's ear. The whispered breath made Sasuke cringe but the tightened grip on his shoulder became almost painful and he remained still. With the man this close – and not being able to move – it was evident the difference in power levels; one fifteen year old against a fully fledged (and apparently ageless) man who had been the pioneer for the Sharingan. Even with the Amaterasu Itachi had given him, Sasuke was no match for the man who had brought Kyuubi down to its knees with a glance, and Sasuke had only been able to suppress the chakra.

"You're so set on revenge against me that your judgement has been clouded, Sasuke. Itachi acted as any caring brother should but in doing so, he manipulated you to get to me. It's time you took a step out of your beloved Aniki's shadow and I can help you do that. You said you wanted the truth and I told you that but I know, deep inside, you want to crush Konoha… give us time and we will do it – together."

The elder man pulled away from his younger relative and watched as his eyes widened, and thousands of emotions were laid bare for all to see. Madara knew that Itachi would never allow himself to have been in such a position, one where manipulation was evident yet emotions blocked the way. Itachi had that quality around him; emotions had been cut off when Itachi graduated and the man had such a supreme control of them that even Madara had questioned whether the Shinobi was human once in a battle mode.

Itachi would never have allowed Madara to suggest the words he had to Sasuke, or even allowed the man to touch him. Madara grinned as Sasuke's eyes flashed red and he looked up into the eye hole of the mask.

"What do we need to do?"

Most importantly, Itachi would never, ever, have let himself be manipulated in such a way; not that Madara minded, his plans had just been bumped up a step and killed two birds with one stone.

 **手詰り**

Naruto hadn't realised that he had been asleep until the door banged open and he unceremoniously fell off of the chair he had been occupying. He looked around with eyes wider than dishes before he spotted and amused Hokage with two cardboard boxes.

"As neither you nor Itachi had anything to eat last night I took the liberty of buying you some ramen. I chose Miso as I thought it would be the best, considering I have no idea what Itachi prefers and you… well you'll eat practically everything."

Naruto smiled softly and took both of the boxes. He didn't bother asking if Itachi was awake or not, simply passing the box to the elder of the two and waiting for the hand to emerge from the dark cloak. Sure enough the hand emerged and took the offered item. Naruto yawned and returned to the chair he had claimed for his own.

It didn't take long for the smell of ramen to waft through the room as the pair tucked into their breakfast; both knew that they had limited time if they wanted to come up with a foolproof plan ahead of anything the council could get a hold on. They hadn't slept for more than three hours yet for seasoned and elite Shinobi (which both of them were, regardless to the image Naruto was portrayed as) this was more than plenty. With the Kyuubi's chakra still buzzing around inside of him, Itachi was able to regain his energy faster than usual, as was the same with Naruto.

"I won't tell you when I'll be leaving, just to be on the safe side, but it will be soon. Shizune will be able to stay here and I will send you messages either via Hawk or a summon every so often, especially when I have gathered enough information. Keep all information about your plans restricted; if possible keep them only between Itachi and yourself."

Naruto looked over to Shizune to see her reaction but frowned in confusion when he saw her smiling.

"Its fine Naruto, in fact I think this is the smartest idea. I am not as skilled a Shinobi as either you or Itachi, and Danzou would have no qualms about putting me into interrogation if it would benefit him. You two have gone through trials that have strengthened you emotionally and physically and I could never match that in terms of strength. It is best if I not only look as if I know nothing but that I actually know nothing."

Itachi nodded in agreement, pleased that the woman had reached such a conclusion. Naruto's frown was still evident but it had lessened a little and he nodded hesitantly.

"For the time being, Naruto, I would like you to stay with me here – you too Itachi – but send a shadow clone to act as you would normally. We need to appear as authentic as possible and… I never thought I'd say this – please bring the orange back. Just until you're revealed as Hokage."

Naruto crossed his hands and the exact replica of what he looked like before the black had invaded appeared beside him. With a set of quick instructions, Naruto dismissed the replica and turned back to Tsunade, an expectant look on his face.

"Later today we will be holding a meeting with the Advisors so as to smooth things over with the change. Because of the threats Akatsuki and the Sound pose to the village there will be no festivals or such, just an announcement and meetings with the councils for each of the Shinobi classes. The Advisors will want to know your basic plans for Konoha and I hope to god you have a smidgeon of a plan because I don't."

Naruto turned to the hooded Itachi and grinned,

"They can't say no to my Advisor when he's the one who will provide information for our alias. Itachi will be able to provide information about the Akatsuki and Orochimaru so it should be enough to deter them for a while."

Tsunade nodded and took in a deep breath. She had never thought that Naruto would make Hokage at such a young age – he was only sixteen, younger than his father had been. Although she had complete faith in the man, she didn't want to be indirectly responsible for the burden that would be placed upon his shoulders.

There was no one else – not even Kakashi or the current ANBU Captain – who would have the wits and power to outsmart Danzou and his advisors. With the connections Naruto had made over the years, the Kazekage, a former member of ROOT and now an infamous S-Classed Missing Nin to name a few, it would be no surprise to see Konoha rise beautifully after the war around them had settled. Under Naruto's command, Konoha would flourish; she only hoped that she would be alive at the end to see it.

Tsunade looked up as the door to her office opened and the former leader of Team 7 sauntered in, arms full of Kunoichi.

"I found her unconscious on a bench near her house. I thought it would be best to take her to you rather than the hospital because I have a feeling she wants to tell you something… there is evidence of her crying."

Naruto hastily shrugged the cloak from his shoulder and pushed it down until it was crumpled and he sat upon the material. Itachi didn't move an inch, eyes locked calmly on the Jounin before him.

The Hokage moved over to Sakura and Kakashi watched as green chakra coated the woman's hands. The Jounin took a look around the room and was taken aback slightly as he noticed Naruto.

"I wouldn't have expected you to be up at this time, Naruto, though I must say it's a pleasure to have you amongst us. I think Sakura will be alright."

Naruto allowed concern to flood his eyes and he nodded silently. Although he was concerned about Sakura – she was a brilliant healer and a cherished team mate to him, as well as a close friend – the plans they were to make about Konoha's future over took Naruto's mind and he felt ashamed that he wasn't as concerned as he should be.

Tsunade's hands stopped suddenly and Sakura's eyes fluttered open. Naruto sighed in relief as the pressure that had built up in the pit of his stomach eased and he smiled in true relief. No one was expecting the words that escaped her lips next,

"Sasuke…"

Her eyes widened suddenly and she pushed the Hokage away to look around the room. A sob chocked out from her throat as she saw Naruto and he only had time to stand before the healer grabbed him in a bone crushing hug.

"Oh Naruto! He was looking for you but… then we looked together – and then, then I went to Iruka, Ichiraku, everywhere but – but you just weren't there!"

Naruto looked over at Tsunade and to the cloaked Itachi with wide eyes and a frown on his face that clearly read as 'What the hell?"

"Sakura, would you explain in a little more detail?"

Sakura wiped her eyes and pulled away from Naruto. The blond almost flinched at the pure unadulterated emotion in her eyes – all of which was directed at him – but managed to stop his body's reflex before it kicked in.

"Sasuke got into Konoha and wanted to find Naruto… we… we looked everywhere and I thought that maybe Naruto had… gone."

Naruto noticed Itachi sit stiffly in his seat and he knew that the man's expression would be sharper than usual. Naruto's eyes hardened but he displayed none of the emotion he usually would have. Kakashi looked closer at the man and narrowed his eye; something was different.

"I got a bit preoccupied training last night, what with the last mission and all."

Sakura's eyes widened and she suddenly nodded in understanding.

"I should have known… I'm sorry Naruto. You could have-"

"Got him back? He's not stupid Sakura; he'd only be here for one thing."

Sakura looked up in interest and Kakashi's eye flickered from Naruto to the strange man behind him.

"What is this thing, Naruto?" Naruto turned to the Jounin and shrugged dismissively.

"Haven't figured that part out yet."

"As much as I love your conversations, I have a few things to clear up with Naruto. The Advisors also wish me to impart some news upon Naruto and with the way I think he'll take it… well he'll request an audience with them. Go home and get some rest, Sakura, I expect you back at work tomorrow in top condition."

Sakura nodded and followed Kakashi out of the door, smiling at Naruto as she left. The door swung shut and Naruto suddenly shot out of his chair as if he'd been burnt. The cloak was in his hands and he was lovingly smoothing out the creases that the sitting period had inflicted upon the material.

"Can you get your clone to avoid Kakashi and Sakura for a while? Just until it is acceptable for you to be free of the meeting. Oh by the way, they wanted you to remain in Konoha; Kakashi knows this but you'll have to pretend to make a fuss about it. It's funny really, the situation has changed completely; they'd do anything to get you out of Konoha now."

Tsunade chuckled and Shizune rolled her eyes.

"Would anybody like tea?"

Tsunade counted the nods in the room and smiled at Itachi. She disappeared from the room, only to return moments later with a fully loaded tea tray.

"I prepared it later and it's probably about ready now. Here we are Naruto… Tsunade-sama and… Itachi-san."

Itachi looked at the steaming liquid and shook his head. Shizune retracted her hand a little before pushing the cup even closer to the man's chest. Itachi was surprised; he had thought Shizune as someone who would simply stutter along with the rules.

"You have had hardly any nourishment lately and this tea will do you good. If you refuse I'll just find another way to get it into your system and being Tsunade-sama's assistant does have its perks you know."

Itachi quickly took the cup from her and sipped lightly on the tea; she was right, he did need something like this. The tea was sweet and slightly fruity. There was definitely something exotic in there somewhere and it wasn't long before the teapot made its rounds, Itachi's cup included in the introductions.

"Koharu and Homura should be here in a short while; they're hardly ever late when it's something this important. Especially with you here Itachi, I believe you may have caused the woman to have a slight stroke. I've never seen anyone so shocked before."

Itachi inclined his head and Naruto rolled his eyes; Itachi had reverted into his 'inner shell', much like a tortoise would do when threatened. Except Itachi wasn't being threatened, it was something called a social situation, a daunting prospect to anyone of the name Uchiha.

A knock on the door announced the Advisor's presence and they entered the Hokage's room with guarded expressions. Shizune pulled two chairs out from nowhere and asked Naruto and Itachi to stand. She set the chairs up so that Naruto and Itachi sat at Tsunade's right side and Shizune stood to the left. The elderly pair was seated in front of the desk, making sure to look anywhere but at Itachi.

"Tsunade-sama, Shizune-san, Itachi-san and Naruto… -Sama."

Each inclined their heads at the title and Itachi saw Naruto stiffen at the addressal. For someone in such an uncomfortable position, Naruto was doing exceptionally well; it was no secret that Naruto hated being treated as superior to others, especially as he had been seen as inferior his whole life.

"We're here today to discuss the most important things that will come out of the change in Hokage position. Naruto, Itachi, if you'd start please."

 **手詰り**

It wasn't a mystery anymore as to how Orochimaru got the kid to agree to leave Konoha; the boy had no self respect and made snap decisions based upon the power he would supposedly accumulate. Madara chuckled to himself and Sasuke looked at him in confusion.

It was slightly painful to see a face so similar to Itachi's, even down to the now-permanent Sharingan display. Since Sasuke had activated the Sharingan upon agreeing to work with Madara, the blood limit had yet to recede. Itachi had been the same and it had led him to nothing but blindness – and an early death. For all his power, Itachi had been a fool at the end and died; now Sasuke was his to manipulate and toy with but it wouldn't be for Konoha or the protection of the loved sibling.

It would be to destroy both.

Madara had never understood the bond between the two Uchiha siblings. He guessed that he had once held it with his own brother (Sasuke did look remarkably like the brother… what was his name again?) but that was in the past, a tiny puddle under a bridge; useless and unsightly.

When he had first met Itachi, Madara thought that he had stumbled across a younger version of himself. Itachi had been young, restless but a bloody good Shinobi. Even the other members of the Akatsuki would have been pushed to beat Itachi in top form – the man hadn't made ANBU Captain at such a young age for nothing. His techniques had only seemed to grow over the years Madara had known him and the man had to admit there had been an attraction toward the younger male.

Of course, Itachi being Itachi had refused him (even after the massacre and his introduction to the Akatsuki) claiming that Madara was mistaken in his assumptions. That had been the first nail to scrape the blackboard and Madara had abandoned the training Itachi had committed himself to; Itachi could quite literally go fuck himself if he thought that his teacher would stay after that rejection.

When he resurfaced under the alias of Tobi, Itachi hadn't taken notice of him. Only thanks to the link between experienced Mangekyou users was 'Tobi' allowed to see that Itachi knew exactly who he was and this had bothered Madara even more. In the years that Tobi plagued the Akatsuki with his annoying quips and constant nagging in the Akatsuki Itachi had not even looked his way and Madara had told Pein to begin the plans as soon as possible.

His hope had come true; Sasori had been terminated and there had been a spot for Tobi. Itachi had to notice him if he was around 24/7 and Madara had got his wish. After passing each other in the second week of Tobi's stay at the Akatsuki, Itachi had hissed in his ear a warning,

"Stay away from me,"

And Tobi had listened. For a while. He had almost got the Uchiha too, after he told him that Deidara had killed Sasuke. The cool and calm demeanour that Itachi had adopted since the night his family had been killed eroded to reveal the real Itachi, a man who was suffering from emotional wounds. Madara's arms had been comfort for a short while until Itachi's mind registered what he was doing and the man had left a look of disgust on his face.

It wasn't the look of disgust when realising he had just kissed the person of the same sex; it was the look of disgust at being betrayed again. Madara had once again manipulated the man into doing as the eldest Uchiha wanted and Itachi had been aware of that, it was disgust at Madara's actions as well as his own self.

When Madara had left Itachi's body, there had been a slight throb in his system but he had sneered behind the mask. Everything the man had done had been pointless; Madara had taken Sasuke away and the biggest threat to everything (even above Konoha for the town lacked the silent brutality that Itachi possessed) had died there, the cold body had been proof. Madara had know Itachi was dying, even the man himself had known it. There were just so many times that you could slip a pill without being noticed. Itachi had had two options; die of an illness or die by your brother's hand. He had chosen the latter (even though it offered a shorter life span) and Madara had not had to wait before activating his plan; it had been the green light to go.

Looking at the brother Itachi had fought so hard to protect, Madara felt a strange sense well up inside and knew very well what it meant,

I won Itachi; your brother fell straight to me without even thinking of what you would have wanted.

It was true; Sasuke seemed to have forgotten that every step Itachi had taken had been a dual step; one shadow for Sasuke, another for Konoha. Sasuke's footprints were mere impressions on a beach when the tide was coming in, images that flickered and changed with each heartbeat. Sasuke had no real plan, no goal, nothing. The only hope he could have would be being controlled and Madara accepted this so called burden with ease.

"Where are we going?"

Madara looked sideways, the mask stopping his face from turning completely.

"You'll see in time. I've taken a short leave from the Akatsuki to help you in this goal and we each have our part to play. Though two people against the whole of Konoha will never be able to take the village down… I suggest we recruit some people."

Madara's lips twinge as he saw the glare flitter on his companion's face.

"Or you could reassemble the team you dumped, rise from the ashes of what you were and start afresh. Where two people may fail, five can surely prevail."

"You want Hebi?"

Madara grinned; the boy may be no Itachi but he wasn't all that stupid.

"Exactly. If they want to know where you have been, just tell them you wanted some time alone. If you want your team to trust you enough to take on one of the strongest – if not the strongest - hidden villages, you better pull your weight boy."

Sasuke's eyes flashed dangerously and Madara leapt out of the path of the Amaterasu, dodging the uncontrolled flames with ease. Sasuke struggled with the control for a few moments before bringing the eye back under control.

Again Madara couldn't help but draw the parallel between Itachi and his brother's control of the technique; Itachi had created it and mastered it to the full potential yet Sasuke was no idiot when it came to fire techniques. The younger male was a quick learner and had learnt a few fire Jutsu faster than Itachi had. Because the Amaterasu had been directly passed from brother to brother, all of Itachi's knowledge concerning how to use the Amaterasu to the full potential should have gone with it; Itachi wasn't a man to do things halfway. It again appeared that Itachi was at a far superior level to Sasuke, the control of the Amaterasu highlighting this fact.

"You need to control that Amaterasu."

Sasuke hissed in reply and Madara's smirk grew under his mask. The kid had fire inside of him and was not afraid of letting it out; a dangerous thing to do when there were so many things that could put that fire out in an instant.

And even though Sasuke was no Itachi (not even close to the same league) Madara was sure as hell that he was going to get some fun out of Sasuke.

 **手詰り**

Homura and Koharu sat in a tensed silence as Naruto shifted his weight a little and began to talk,

"I appreciate all the work you have done as Advisors in the past and I will allow you to keep your positions as your advice will be needed at times and you have far more experience than I. With your permission I would like to choose a close Advisor and my choice would be Uchiha-san here."

Tsunade smiled slightly at the way in which Naruto was playing the game. The elders would have no choice but to agree once Naruto specified why he wanted the Uchiha there and they would have no proof that Itachi was conspiring against them. The Advisors had been backed into a temporary corner. They would have a seat of power in the village yet be crippled of this power, a clever move that would not only antagonise the Oni, but keep them temporarily at bay.

"And why would Uchiha Itachi make a better Advisor to the Hokage than either of us?"

Naruto nodded calmly to the speaker – Homura – and acknowledged the man's statement with ease.

"Uchiha-san had firsthand experience with both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki and this will help us to eliminate those threats to Konoha. I have seen the extent that Itachi has gone to for the Sake of Konoha and one of its citizens and I would place the position in no one else's hands."

Tsunade nodded at the statement and Itachi agreed. Although Itachi had the wit to outsmart the Advisors – and the power to do it – he lacked a certain skill that one needed to become Hokage. If Itachi had been able to grow up in the normal confines of a family then he might have been a candidate for the Godaime Hokage but there were only so many events that a person could take without losing all of their people quality.

Naruto's had remained intact and his was stronger than most. The fact that he had changed so many people and been able to make friends with practically anyone he touches was a clear result of the skill one needed to become a Hokage; Tsunade remembered Minato possessing the calm manor and had to admit that Naruto's even outshone the Yondaime's. And that was no easy feat.

"You plan on tackling such larger hurdles as soon as that? With all due respect… Naruto-sama," the people on the Hokage's side of the desk frowned at the slight hesitation in the woman's voice but she continued nonetheless, "but surely the village's welfare should be your main priority. Such a sudden change will be sure to upset the balance for a while and some may be particularly opposed to you as Hokage at first."

"I understand what you mean but, to quote your own words, I will be putting Konoha's welfare and stability first. The Akatsuki are a threat to everything and it will be a fruitless effort to build up an empire only to have it crushed by that organisation. It is better to strike when we are at a lull before picking up the pieces."

Koharu had no choice but to nod to the Rokudaime's words and she slumped slightly in her chair, the fight almost leaving her.

"How can you fight the Akatsuki if none of your Shinobi will act under your command… have you thought about that?"

Naruto looked to the man and calmed down the thousands of words he wanted to call the man, none of them particularly complementary.

"I have indeed thought of that but if they cannot accept my late father's wishes, as many didn't, for honouring me as a hero, then they hardly deserve the title of a Konoha Shinobi. I do not blame them for hating me as a child, it is natural human behaviour to blame someone to hide the pain any person may be feeling yet if these feelings of animosity are revealed in plain sight I will have no other choice but to strip them of their rank.

"I wasn't chosen for Hokage just because Tsunade-sama likes me, Jiraiya-sama trained me until I was worthy of this position. I haven't suddenly taken upon the Namikaze name just to make it appear as though I am a strong Shinobi, the reason I didn't accept the clan name was before I hadn't reached anywhere near my full potential. There are things you wouldn't dream of doing that I can easily achieve."

A staring contest began, neither side backing down. Naruto knew it was childish behaviour but this could just as well be considered a battleground. Homura's dark eyes pierced into his and Naruto waited patiently until the man looked away. The first tears gathered in the elder's eyes and he looked away hurriedly, blinking back the loss of moisture.

"Only time will be able to tell us of that, Naruto-sama. We will allow the reign of Hokage to fall to you but heed this warning now; we can act if we see you as a danger to Konoha. With the Kyuubi inside of you, you will be watched from afar yet we will not approach you. Show us what you can do to Konoha that will benefit it; from what you have told us there is little but warmongering between you. We will take our leave now."

By the time the door closed, Naruto was fuming. He stormed over to the chair the woman had evacuated and kicked it across the room.

"Warmongering? Who the fuck does she think she is! It's not us who are the warmongerers it's-"

A hand over his mouth cut off the sentence and Naruto felt his body go weak as he looked into Itachi's dark eyes.

"I agree with you Naruto but we still have leverage against them. You're hardly unpopular in the village and the leadership of clans is changing. If the Oni want to over throw you they will need full support from the Council and many of the leaders would not be prepared to place you in that position. They know you Naruto."

Naruto nodded and sat down on the chair he had kicked. His head fell back to the chair's top and he sighed heavily; being a Shinobi meant that you had to fight wars and battle against a common enemy but being Hokage meant mind games, internal wars and constant battles against supposed friends.

It was hard but Naruto would rather kill himself than watch Konoha fall.

 **Hero**

 **A man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities**

 **英雄**

Tsunade had become twitchy within the past few hours and Naruto suspected that it had something to do with the lack of Jiraiya's information. It had been quite a while since she had sent the man off and she had at least expected him to send word even if he hadn't gotten into Amegakure successfully. It was the not knowing that Tsunade hated the most; the possibility that one of her precious people could be dead and she had no idea.

A snore broke through her trail of thoughts and she watched the pair of men out of the corner of her eye. It had been Naruto who snored and Itachi had looked over at the young Rokudaime with an almost nonexistent smile on his lips. There was such a tender look to Itachi's face that Tsunade had averted her eyes, suddenly afraid that she had stumbled into something secret, a situation that was too intimate for others to intrude.

Tsunade had met Itachi a few times, the last being before he had left Konoha. He had been on a mission and they had merely greeted one another. When she had spotted a particularly nasty wound on the arm of the young Shinobi she had decided to heal it for him. Itachi wasn't an open person, even back when he was younger, but he obviously felt as though Naruto was the closest person to him.

It made sense in a strange way; Uzumaki Naruto was the only person Itachi could truly rely on; the only person who would be able to touch the Uchiha. Itachi was almost like an object behind a glass, one that was kept under lock and key. Naruto happened to be the only human to existence that had access to the key and was not afraid to let the object out.

"Tsunade-sama, may I wake him?"

If it had been any other of her Shinobi, Tsunade knew they would have commented on the annoyance of Naruto's snores. The blonde woman nodded, knowing full well that Itachi wanted Naruto to remain asleep until his biological clock woke him but it was unavoidable in this situation. They could no longer count for the luxuries of a simple life yet… had Uchiha Itachi ever been able to?

Naruto was awake in less than five minutes and he sat up groggily, the cloak slipping from its place on his lap where he had used it as a makeshift blanket. The first thing his eyes focused on was Itachi's face and he broke into one of the most heart-warming and beautiful smiles Tsunade had ever seen.

"Morning Itachi," the blond sat up straight and the smile widened, transforming into a grin, "Hey Baa-chan."

Tsunade nodded in response and walked back to her desk. There was a stack of paperwork that had been building up and she had to make her presence known in the missions room today so there was one solution to the problem; aspiring Hokage!

"Naruto you have a task to do today. These files here will need sorting and then the Hokage's signature. If you get them all signed then you can file them away. I'll make sure no one gets the access codes until I've left so they cannot claim that you knew you were to be Hokage before the announcement."

Naruto pulled a face but shuffled over to the chair, dragging a reluctant Ex ANBU captain with him.

"Only if Itachi helps; I don't get half of this stuff; words aren't exactly my forte."

Itachi rolled his eyes at the slight lie; Naruto was perfectly fine with words. It appeared that he had already caught the typical Hokage-laziness-disorder but if he was willing to do it with Itachi there then that would be acceptable. For now.

"Good, I have to go to the mission's room for most of the day but I will be back for lunch. Shizune will be the only one allowed in here aside from me so you can have complete access to all files and documents if needed. Unless it is completely unavoidable, would you stay in here? It would make things easier and less questions would be raised over Itachi's identity and why there are two very different looking Narutos wondering around Konoha. Some people even seem to think that you're Minato, especially in that cloak… we'll avoid everything until we cross that bridge."

Naruto nodded and picked up the black pen. Tsunade had a calligraphy set but she had once told him that that was for official documents that were to be sent to other countries. For personal files such as the ones he had been given – internal files – a biro would suffice.

Tsunade slipped out of the room as Naruto took his seat in her chair and she smiled to Shizune behind the desk. The black haired woman smiled in return and walked over to the door, inserting the chakra key and locking it.

Inside the room Itachi sat opposite of Naruto and tilted his head backwards so he ended up looking up to the ceiling. The sound of pen tapping the paper and a hand smoothing across the white paper was an odd lullaby but Itachi felt his eyes grow heavy. Naruto saw the Uchiha's eyes close from underneath his spiky fringe and smiled; Itachi needed to learn to relax and allow his body to drift into a state of relaxation. No one could hold such a brittle body position for so long and be considered healthy.

The time passed quickly, the slow breathing of Itachi became the tick-tock of a clock and Naruto almost became distracted. Itachi's head had rolled onto his shoulder and Naruto found himself staring at the man for entire minutes before returning to the signing of documents.

There was no way that Itachi could be called unattractive; the Uchiha Clan itself had always been a highly respectable and good looking Clan but Itachi took breeding to a whole other degree. His eyes were pools of obsidian, framed with long lashes that would make any woman glare in jealousy. The pale skin on his face seemed ageless and stretched neatly over high cheekbones, slowly gathering into pink lips that any woman would die to kiss.

The door clicked open suddenly and Naruto looked away with a slight blush on his cheeks as Itachi snapped to attention. Faking normality, Naruto smiled to Shizune as she brought in what was presumably their lunch. Itachi walked over to her and whispered something that Naruto couldn't quite catch. Shizune smiled, looked over at Naruto once, and left after passing the tray into Itachi's hands.

"I see you've managed to get quite a lot of work done, it's a good start."

Naruto nodded and looked down to the pile of papers he had completed. Around three quarters of the white sheets lay in the pile and Naruto chuckled,

"I didn't really notice how much I've completed… it's interesting to see all of the complete mission files and reports on the civilians. I think these are left over from the annual census or something."

Itachi nodded before setting out the food; it was ramen again and Naruto's face lit up.

"They sure know how to treat a Hokage eh?"

Itachi rolled his eyes but broke the chopsticks open in unison with the blond and Naruto looked up in amusement. Itachi just shrugged his shoulders and Naruto nodded his head in compliance. It was little actions such as these that alerted any onlookers to a developing relationship. Neither Naruto nor Itachi had picked up the subtle hints but they were slowly growing closer.

Once they had finished, Itachi tapped on the door and Shizune took the tray offered from the door frame. Itachi returned to see Naruto's eyes slightly misty and he waited for the blond to snap out of his apparent day dream by his self.

"Itachi… if Sasuke wanted me, then where is he? I know he wanted to get back at Madara and my clone said he needed my help but… he just left."

It was the subject again, the one person that Itachi had tried to put out of his mind so many times. He had loved Sasuke but he wasn't sure how far he'd go anymore. Itachi knew there was a strong chance that Sasuke would do just as he planned yet he hoped to god that it hadn't come true.

"There is a strong possibility that you will never be in arms reach of saving him Naruto. There is a strong chance that Sasuke will never return to Konoha unless he has claimed it for himself. If he went up against Madara and Madara saw an opening the manipulative bastard will have done everything in his power to turn Sasuke against Konoha. If he is in that position now – which I am almost certain of – the only terms with which he will return to Konoha will be under war."

Itachi watched calmly as Naruto's eyes bugged before closing painfully. The younger man's jaw clenched and his hand balled into a fist.

"Why would he…"

"You forget that I begged the Sandaime never to reveal the true events of the Coup d'état and he lived his whole life to serve a revenge… then to find he'd got the wrong person. Emotionally Sasuke is a wreck, no matter how he appears on the outside. It's the way he has always been, like you, allowing his emotions to rule over duty. Your emotions are put on display for all to see but Sasuke hides his away, increasing the intensity by tenfold. He is still a child thrust into an adult world."

Naruto's eyes opened with fierce emotion,

"Am I not a child thrust into an adult world?"

Itachi looked away and his eyes softened.

"You were born into the adult world Naruto. You've been playing that game your entire life; manipulation is one of your hidden but perfected skills. Sasuke is little but an apprentice that has been shoved into the master's job."

Naruto cradled his head in his hands and sighed loudly. Itachi walked past the desk and over to a cabinet on the far right of the office. He unlocked it, knowing the chakra sequence off by heart, and reached in to take a thick folder from the darkness of the drawer. Blue eyes watched through fingers as Itachi flicked through pages as he walked back.

"This is a list of all the Missing Nin Konohagakure has ever sired. All the ones that are still out there anyway. There are also a few other sections on other countries' Missing Nin but they are smaller and contain only what we consider the most dangerous."

Naruto took the folder slowly and leafed through a few of the pages. He put the folder down grimly after a minute and nodded to Itachi's silent question.

"I see it. Uchiha Sasuke; the only child in the whole damn folder."

Itachi nodded; point made. He hated to be so blunt and cold to Naruto but he had to make the man see that the 'Last Uchiha' would never be coming home. He knew that deep within the blond, Naruto knew that he would never get Sasuke back, considering what he had said before;

"Please Itachi… I know I can't save Sasuke but I can save you."

It was the Hokage part – the part of Naruto that still saw Sasuke as a friend – that refused to give up and Itachi had to admit that if anyone were to get Sasuke back it could be no one but Naruto. The simple fact was Naruto was in over his head.

"Secure Konoha, destroy the Akatsuki and then go after him."

Itachi looked up; Naruto had said the very words that he had been thinking. A smile found its way onto his lips and he nodded,

"A hero can still save the day if he's late."

 **英雄**

It had been a while since Konan had allowed a butterfly to shed the chrysalis and she sat with the wilted body of the last butterfly she had created in her hands, eyes drawn to the bed. Ever since the man had first woken up she had not left his side, hoping that he would wake again. The butterfly itself had died on his cheek and she had allowed a tear to spill onto both the skin of the man and the butterfly's wing as a farewell to the memory creature.

The reason that Konan didn't want to create another butterfly was the harsh indecency each insect suffered; only a day's life but it was forced under her will, her chakra killing any resemblance of a real butterfly when she opened the chrysalis' before allowing them to shed naturally. It was a container for her memories, not an animal. She most certainly did not want to remember this period in her life; the waiting and watching without being able to do anything.

Twice she had cursed herself for not signing the contract he had offered years ago; none of them had seen the need to. It wasn't that it wouldn't be useful but they had been three orphans that were new to the Shinobi way of fighting; it had been a slight offer that was more tongue-in-cheek than a proposal. They had declined his offer in favour of learning another skill; one that Konan hated herself for learning.

A moan on the bed made her drop the butterfly and she stood next to the man, her lip growing steadily red as she continuously played with it between her teeth. His eyes opened and she waited for them to focus before moving into his line of sight.

"I need you to do something for me, Jiraiya. Do you think you could do that?"

A chocked gargle was all the noise that came from his abused throat and Konan's eyes hardened in pain. She grasped Jiraiya's hands and placed them together with hers on top.

"If you don't… you'll die."

The image of the crumpled butterfly that now lay on the floor flickered into her minds eyes as Jiraiya shook his head and closed his eyes, pulling his hand from hers. The hundreds of chrysalis in the glass case suddenly erupted in blue flashes as Konan choked back a sob,

Shinobi rule number 25: No matter what situation, a Shinobi must keep emotions on the inside, you must make the mission your top priority and you must possess a heart that shows no tears.

 **英雄**

"We need to make Konoha our priority… where are the lists of active and non-active Shinobi kept?"

Itachi walked back over to the cabinet and pulled out a stack of thick folders, each titled with the information they contained. He placed them on the empty table (Naruto had finished the paperwork and it was now neatly tied up with a string and placed in the far left corner of the office) and began with the ANBU classed Nin.

"I'm going to place the members into emergency teams… groups of four or five should do. I want a team that specialises in tracking, silent killing, espionage etc. and I want them to be able to get the job done swiftly. Of course they'll only be revealed as teams if the Akatsuki go on the assault and we are left in the wake of a war… how does that sound?"

"It's a good idea but how can you be sure that they will complement each other. They may look good on paper but how can that be justified through to the physical work?"

Naruto looked up at Itachi as though he was a complete idiot.

"Hello Mr. Ex-Taichou… you're going to help. Baa-chan can help too and I'm sure Shizune knows a bit."

Itachi blinked and shook his head. If Naruto thought that ANBU had changed little in these past eight years or so then the blond was in for a shock. Nevertheless he complied and walked forwards to the desk, dragging the chair he had been sitting on with one hand until his knees were touching the desk at sitting position.

Taking the first few files, Itachi noted their special qualities and suited them to jobs that would fit. When he had finished all of them into piles, Naruto checked them over and nodded, obviously pleased with Itachi's work.

"Now to match them up. It's like a dating service really…"

"In what way," Itachi's voice was bordering between annoyance and amusement.

"Well we've got to match them up. Enough said."

It was definitely annoyance at the moment.

"Okay then Naruto, who would you be paired up with at this dating service?"

Naruto seemed slightly distracted but he scratched his chin as he began looking at pile number two.

"I don't know really… I haven't seen anyone else's reports but the few people here… though I'd have to say that there is only one person for me. I'd be paired up with you, hands down."

Itachi looked at Naruto, eyes wider than usual. Naruto either still hadn't caught the hidden innuendo in the oh-so-innocent question or he was just purely ignoring it. Itachi just hoped it was the latter until,

"Oh." And here was the blush. Well done Naruto, really Hokage-ish.

Naruto caught the Uchiha's eye and both of them looked away from each other. There was an awkward silence as the paper rustling stopped but it was thankfully followed by the click of the door as Tsunade walked in, a miserable look on her face.

Naruto jumped up and laughed loudly while Itachi pushed his chair a little further away from the table. It had been an uncomfortable situation yet Itachi had no idea why; when women – and men – were gushing out their love to him before he had never felt uncomfortable, even when shooting them down. Guilty; yes, a little sad; yes, uncomfortable; no. It seemed Naruto was the only one to bring such emotions out on the elder male and it annoyed Itachi because he had no idea of the reason.

"Had a bad day?"

Tsunade grunted in reply. "Sakura seems to think that we have a chance of getting Sasuke back if I send Team Kakashi out now. She claims that he wasn't in the right state of mind, not that he ever has been – sorry Itachi but it's the truth – and that you have more chance of getting him back, especially as he wants Naruto."

Itachi frowned at the comment and Naruto's features mirrored his own. Tsunade smiled as the pair got to the same conclusion at the same time.

"So she wants to use Naruto as bait?" Itachi and Naruto spoke at the same time but whereas Itachi said 'Naruto', the blond said 'me'. Tsunade's smile grew a little and she nodded.

"I explained to her that it was a ridiculous notion and that she shouldn't even think of putting her team mate into that position. In her defence she did look guilty before she said that you would be able to handle anything the Uchiha threw at you. While that may be true, there are a number of reasons why we won't be embarking on that mission; Akatsuki are loose, we're planning on combating a civil war before it gets started, Sakura's emotions rule her too much and the fact that Itachi here would most likely skin me alive if I let anything happen to you."

Naruto choked, remembering the innuendo from before and blushed slightly.

"Is there something I'm missing…? Naruto?"

Naruto's blush deepened and he muttered an answer in the negative. The Hokage caught Itachi's eye and they shared a smirk. All three of the room's occupants knew that they would have to take whatever comic relief they could as things were about to get difficult and bonds would be strained to the limit.

Tsunade wondered if the stress and events that were to take place would destroy the Rokudaime or widen his eyes to the idea of a relationship.

After all, it wasn't as if Itachi would say no, all one had to do was notice the signs.

 **英雄**

It had been a few days since Jiraiya had last woken up and he often flitted between consciousness and fits of awareness. He would always avoid her eyes and remove his hands from hers whenever she tried to take them. It was the first day that he had been truly aware and this time he didn't flinch away from her touch.

"Jiraiya-sensei," fuck had it been a long time since she'd said that, "we need to get you better. You have some damage that I cannot heal and I'm worried that it'll become life threatening. You lost a lot of blood and the last thing we need now it for you to start haemorrhaging but it could happen. I need you to send a summon to Tsunade-san. Can you do that? Nod if you can."

Jiraiya coughed weakly and a trickle of blood shot out of his mouth and landing on the crumpled butterfly on Konan's lap. She had stored this butterfly after the entire collection of chrysalis had erupted into a sea of blue memories. The pattern on this butterfly had been so vivid – a deep indigo entwined with sapphire – when the butterfly had been living that she wanted to keep this one with her. Now the wings were stained crimson and Konan knew that the butterfly was useless now; she couldn't even respect it in its death.

"I know you don't want me to help you but I can't do anything. I'm the only one left… that sick bastard… Pein, he's something out of this world. I miss Nagato and Yahiko, I even miss you."

Konan ignored the widening of the Great Jiraiya's eyes and took a deep breath. There were so many things she wanted to shout at him for about the past – including the change in Nagato and the loss of Yahiko – but there was no time now, this was not the place.

"I'm sick of this, biding our time and pretending that I want a war. I'm going to save you Jiraiya, I can't do anything else. Please… just get Tsunade."

The white haired man on the bed remained motionless and Konan rose up off the bed. As she was about to pull her hand from her former teacher's grasp two calloused hands grabbed onto hers and she turned around, a huge smile on her face.

"Thank you, thank you Jiraiya-sensei. If you need chakra please take mine; anything."

Jiraiya made a noise at the back of his throat before moving one of her hands onto the back of his hand. She summoned chakra to her own hand and passed it onto Jiraiya. The man began a series of hand seals slowly before the sequence was completed. Konan hadn't seen the blood on his lip transfer onto his hand before the smoke announced the arrival of a toad.

"What do you want Jiraiya?"

A bright yellow and orange frog sat on the bed. It was larger than a Labrador but not big enough to be sat upon or anything yet.

"Have you got any food?"

Konan looked at the frog and then back at Jiraiya. The man was gargling again; trying to talk. She shook her head and addressed the toad.

"Please, go to Konoha and tell Tsunade-sama that we need her presence here. Tell her to come to Amegakure in disguise and come to the hospital entrance. Tell her that the person who is looking after Jiraiya will be waiting for her there and that if she wants him to live she will have to come. No one else can help him in this condition. Do that and I'll buy you as much food as… in fact, when you get to Konoha, give this money," she attached a small bag of coins to the toad's foot, "to Tsunade and ask her to buy you something. Good luck."

With a quick look at Jiraiya – to check that these instructions were what he wanted – Gamatatsu nodded and disappeared, taking Konan's hope with him.

Jiraiya settle back down and Konan bit her lip. The butterfly remained on the floor, the dull blue and purple of its wings still coated in mess. Like the situation Konan could only hope that she would salvage the butterfly; if not, another jewel from the world would be lost.

 **英雄**

Tsunade had left her office in favour of walking around the secret gardens of Konoha. They were situated on top of the Hokage tower and associated buildings yet Tsunade was now the only one to see them. The grass was wildly overgrown and flowers popped up in various places, claiming the territory for their own.

There was a small serenity pool in the heart of the jungle with a wire pagoda that had been Tsunade's favourite ever since she was a child. Her grandfather had loved this garden and it seemed that he had passed this love onto her.

The wind blew a curved weeping willow branch over her path and she pushed it back to reveal the murky water of the pool. To the woman it didn't matter that the water was dirty; in fact she preferred it that way. No human had interfered with this land in years and she wasn't about to start. In the letter she would leave with the Advisors to give to Naruto, she would explain about the garden.

Tsunade remembered that Minato had often brought Kushina here. The stress of being a Hokage and expecting had driven a nail in their relationship and would have stretched the pair to their wits end if they had not come here. These gardens were a secret sanctuary; a place that was untouched and free. She only hoped that Naruto would bring Itachi here and that the pair would be able to salvage the loose connections they had started to build.

The soft pop announced an intrusion and the Hokage turned her head to glare. She stopped, mouth half open and eyes wide, when she saw the toad and he calmly replied,

"Yo!"

Tsunade's face drained of colour and her heartbeat began to race.

"Jiraiya…"

The toad responded and hopped over to her.

"The blue haired lady said you'd buy me stuff with her money," a bag of coins was chucked into the Hokage's lap and she gripped the cloth bag loosely.

"What about Jiraiya?"

"Hmm? Oh well the woman said that she needed your help and that you were to go to the Hidden Rain hospital to meet her if you wanted to save him. He's in a pretty bad shape."

A tear slipped from Tsunade's eye before she had time to collect herself and she stood.

"I'll get you some food and then I'll go. We can't waste time… how did you find me anyway?"

"Jiraiya told us all how to spot his closest people's chakra. He taught us Minato's, Kushina's, Naruto's and yours. We knew Naruto even before he got the contract… me and 'Kichi were born with the ability to sense him. Pretty cool eh?"

Tsunade nodded and slipped off of the bench she was seated upon. The toad followed as she walked through the jungle and waited at the top. It wasn't long before Tsunade returned with a bag of assorted foods in and Gamatatsu paid his thanks before vanishing.

Tsunade knew it was time to tell the Advisors that she was leaving. They were to be the only pair that knew of her disappearance before the 'announcement' to her successor.

"Tsunade-sama?" Koharu looked up as the Hokage burst into their office room.

"I am going, please look after Naruto. If you would inform him of this in a few hours then that would be most appreciated."

The two Oni bowed as one and muttered,

"Of course Tsunade-sama. We wish you the best of luck."

As much as Tsunade hated stepping out of this game, there was nothing for her. Naruto had always had the best of luck and now was a perfect time to test out how lucky he could be. She left the room without a single word to either of the Advisors and went to her private room.

Inside everything had been packed up for her to take with her; medical supplies lay in neat scrolls as well as ordinary clothes. Now all she needed to do was fiddle with the Genesis seal to alter her appearance and she would be done.

As much as she hated revealing her true age, the wrinkles were let loose as she left Konoha; no one bidding her a second glance.

Everything had worked out perfectly and it was now time for Namikaze Naruto to show Konoha exactly what he was made of.

"Good luck Naruto," she whispered to the wind and turned her head away from the Hokage Mountain, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

The smile on her lips contradicted the tears and Tsunade knew that they were not tears of regret; they were tears of hope. Konoha needed a hero and it was about to receive one.

 **Motion**

 **the action or process of moving or of changing place or position**

 **動き**

It had never been a tradition for the Hokage's team members to take seat as the Advisors but Koharu and Homura had taken the position by chance after the Sandaime had entered his rule. Sarutobi had been delighted at this; his team members and close friends were to remain by his side and offer their support.

It hadn't been until Danzou had approached them that the pair began to see things a little differently. The man commented on the way Sarutobi liked to get involved with the village and its citizens a little more that what was considered mandatory. The Shodai and Nidaime had both played an active part in the community but as they had still been setting up Konoha and smoothing the village over (not to mention the fractured wars that took place in their rules) they had little time to waste. The Sandaime seemed to have plenty of time to frolic with the villagers, even paying visits to the academy.

Each time the Advisors told Sarutobi to focus on the land around him and what was happening outside of the Fire country, he would smile at them and mutter an excuse. They had thought of this as something close to treachery to Konoha; the Hokage not looking further?

Danzou had made his point and suggested that they chose someone who would be there for Konoha, a desk Hokage who partially isolated his or her self from the village. They needed an iron fist and Shinobi that weren't weakened by emotional bonds. When Koharu had asked if they knew such a man, Danzou had chuckled and suggested they take a look at the Sandaime's main competitor.

Which was, of course, him.

When the Sandaime announced his retirement, his team had finally thought they had a chance. Danzou had been called to the meeting where the Advisors sat with Jiraiya, Orochimaru and Tsunade. The old coot had been smiling through the whole speech until – until – Namikaze Minato was announced as Yondaime. Orochimaru had grunted at the name before leaving the room, the door shutting soundly behind him.

Danzou and the Advisors hadn't acted to that degree but the smile slipped from the former candidate's face and the Advisors stiffened. Had Sarutobi noticed, he may have asked them about their behaviour but at that point he had been in an in depth discussion with Jiraiya (who had tears trickling down his cheeks, a new Yondaime in a tight hug and a smile at the Sandaime).

The day that the supposed last Namikaze fell, the Three Oni - as they were now christened – each took the cursed child in their arms. Homura had been given the child by a nurse whilst they temporarily fixed him a bed only to pass the thing onto his former team member. He certainly wasn't going to dirty his hands with the child, especially as their plans had been halted.

They had started a new plan – a new division of ANBU – and the Yondaime had had no part to play in their upbringing. Their soldiers, their elite legions, were brought up emotionless; the image Danzou wanted to create for Konoha.

The baby had been passed onto Koharu and she fought to suppress the motherly instincts that rose. Here in her arms was a child with nothing except scorn in its life. Its mother was weakened and they were to look after the brat while the hospital recovered their units and moved all patients to suitable areas of Konoha.

They were told, much later, that the baby's mother had died two days after the birth – too much blood lost and a potent blood disease could take a Kunoichi's life easily, no matter how strong they had been.

The father of the child had died for Konoha, sacrificing his life in the attempts to overwhelm the Kyuubi. Not the child; Konoha. She didn't know the exact identity of the man – or the woman for that fact – she was just remembering what the nurse had been told by Jiraiya.

There were plenty of other orphans in the unit; so many families had been destroyed by that demon that Koharu didn't even want to think about numbers. The child that lay in her arms was just that; a child. Part of her wanted to keep it and protect the creature yet she knew what was behind the pale skin. From the moment the child was born it was cursed; coming up shallow in the pool of luck.

With these thoughts in mind, Koharu slowly handed the child to Danzou; afraid of the feeling such a small bundle of ligaments would bring out in her if she touched it any longer. The man's reaction had been the most shocking; he had stroked the baby's cheek with a rough finger and almost smiled.

"We should thank him really. Now with the Yondaime dead, who is there to rule over Konoha?"

It twigged into ancient brains and they nodded their heads. For a few hours they took upon the Yondaime's wishes; the wishes that Naruto would be seen as a hero. They guarded over the child while Jiraiya and the Sandaime rooted through the rubble of their village and fought to control the destruction of the fox. For only a few hours, Naruto was part of a family; of sorts.

When Jiraiya returned it crumbled. The Sandaime was elected back into seat by an emergency protocol and Danzou returned to ROOT. The Advisors played their part, aiding the rise of a Konoha they wished to destroy.

After Jiraiya had spent time with Naruto – not near enough as much as he would have liked – he went in search of Orochimaru. Like Tsunade years before he abandoned the village to escape from the haunts of his past. It was true that he was aligned to the village; it held the only remains of the man who he had come to view as a son. The Sandaime Hokage, much to the Advisors displeasure, looked after Naruto. The boy lived in the orphanage yet the Hokage's daughter often visited him as a small child.

As Naruto grew, the visits stopped. The Hokage's daughter gave birth to her own child and the Advisors convinced Sarutobi that it would be best if they left the Jinchuuriki alone. He would want to know so many things; you had to be cruel to be kind.

When the councillors suggested Jiraiya as the Godaime, they knew he would never take the position. They had allowed him his what-was-meant-to-be-fruitless search for Tsunade in order to show that they would be the best to choose Hokage; and Danzou would be the next choice.

There was one thing they hadn't bargained for; the fact that the Demon brat would bring home the legendary sucker. Now that the brat – who sat in front of them now – was about to be officially announced as Rokudaime (just to keep up the pretences as Tsunade wished) their plans had officially hit an all time low… or an all time high, depending on how you saw it.

The first play rested in Naruto's hands but they weren't about to fold their cards just yet; the Oni could deal as well as they took and the Rokudaime would soon see that.

"What is it that you wanted to discuss Koharu-san, Homura-san?"

The elderly man pushed his glasses a little way up his nose and coughed gently. Koharu took that as a signal for her to begin,

"Tsunade-sama visited us last night, she has left Konoha. We are to pass both this letter, our wishes of luck and to let you know that the Public Announcement will be later on today. If you wish to tell anyone before then you may do so."

The Advisors rose from their chairs fluidly and left the room without a second glance at the Rokudaime. Naruto stared at the door, unable to break the silence even after they had gone. He was vaguely aware of Itachi pressing the button on the desk that would summon Shizune and the man ordered tea. Naruto caught Shizune's worried look but he couldn't figure why; his brain had just stopped.

Shizune returned with the tea and she kissed his temple with a congratulations wish. Naruto automatically nodded his head but his eyes remain blank. It wasn't until a full ten minutes later – just as Itachi took a sip of the still hot tea – that Naruto leapt up from his seat with a cry of joy and dragged Itachi round the desk; laughing and spinning around.

When the blond finally noticed that his 'dancing partner' wasn't exactly compliant, he let go of the man's arms and stopped laughing. The look on Itachi's face would have made young animals wet themselves in fear; it was safe to say Uchiha Itachi was not a very happy chappy.

"Err… um, sorry?"

Itachi looked down at the tea cup and an idea occurred to him. It would be childish – yes – but oh so worth it. With a smirk at the Hokage, Itachi poured the last few centimetres of warm tea onto blond hair. The screech that came from the act was deafening and Itachi jumped out of Naruto's range.

"What the hell was that for!"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders, "You made me spill tea on myself so I thought it was only fair."

Naruto growled and narrowed his eyes at Itachi. Suddenly it seemed that two sparks lit up in Naruto's blue eyes and a smirk overcame his face,

"You know, Itachi… as I'm Hokage I can technically order you to do anything I want."

Itachi snorted, "Two things Hokage-sama, I'm technically dead and a Missing Nin so good luck with that one."

Naruto frowned and Itachi fought the urge to laugh.

"Well before they announce us or whatever we need to change. I'll just read Baa-chan's scroll and then we'll sort it out okay?"

After he had finished reading the contents of the scroll, Naruto told Itachi of its contents. The main bulk of the letter was how to go about Hokage duties and what was expected about Naruto. It detailed a little on the inauguration process and the first few days of official Hokage-dome. There was a mention of the Hokage gardens on the top of the tower and Naruto made a mental note to go and look at those some time.

"We have a house."

Itachi's eyes looked at Naruto in curiosity; there was the true element of surprise.

"It most likely belonged to Yondaime-sama. I guess it has passed to you now."

Naruto nodded and a soft smile came onto his face.

"We'll go there tonight eh? Right, how do we get people to come here?" Naruto pushed the button to summon Shizune and the woman gingerly poked her head round the door.

"Shizune! Would you be able to get some people here so I can tell them privately?"

Shizune smiled and stepped fully into the room, "Of course, Naruto. I'm assuming Iruka-san would be one of them?"

Naruto nodded and looked at Itachi. "Can we also have Kakashi-sensei, Sakura, Sai and Yamato-Taichou?"

Shizune vanished and Naruto heard her call out to a few Chuunin that were obviously milling about in the halls. Itachi passed him a scroll and he summoned out one of the many black clothing sets he had. Itachi followed suit and the pair were finally about to be tea free.

As was the routine, Naruto walked round the Hokage desk and turned so his back was facing Itachi. They had changed fully before the Oni had paid them a visit so there was no need to do a complete swap; only the top half.

The garments were thrown unceremoniously on the floor by Naruto and folded neatly onto a chair by Itachi. Itachi had once commented on how Naruto would most likely trip and fall to his death with the clothes like that but the Uzumaki hardly cared, always waving the dark haired man away.

It was at this point in time that Naruto wished he had very much swallowed his own words; he had turned round after the top he was putting on got stuck over his head and somehow tripped on the clothing on the floor. He yelled out and fell to the ground. Even though he knew that it was impossible to fall to your death from such a pathetic height, it didn't stop his heart beat from increasing and he winced, expecting the hard floor to rush up anytime.

He heard the 'oof' of breath leaving a body but it took a moment for Naruto to realise that it hadn't come from him.

"Naruto…" Itachi's voice sounded strained and it was then that the situation hit Naruto in the face like an iron ball; he – with no top on – had fallen onto Itachi, who too, coincidentally, had no upper clothing on.

"Err, I'm…" The light returned to Naruto's eyes as Itachi pulled the dark material from Naruto's head. Because the sleeves had been through Naruto's arms, they hung upwards and Naruto partially deflated. He opened his mouth to speak when the door clicked open,

"They'll be here shortly Naruto-oh God! I'm so sorry!"

Naruto tilted his head as Shizune continued to stammer apologies, even after the door had shut. Again the iron ball rebounded in his face and Naruto realised that Itachi's hands were still on the fabric. As in making it seem as though he was pulling the garment over Naruto's head. Couple that with the fact that Naruto had landed conveniently between the Uchiha's legs…

"Would you mind getting up? In case you didn't hear Shizune-san your guests will be coming here soon."

Naruto's eyes bugged and he scrambled away from Itachi, watching in slight envy as the non-blushing male pulled his own clothes over his head and re cloaked himself. Naruto cursed the top and pulled it over his hair before he too put his cloak on. With bright red cheeks, he stalked past a smirking Itachi and poked his head out of the door.

"Um, Shizune-nee-chan?"

The woman looked up from her desk with her hand clamped firmly over the lower half of her face. Naruto's heart sunk; was she so disgusted by the accident that she felt sick?

"Yes Naruto?" The reply was muffled so Naruto shuffled out.

"It was an accident, Itachi and I never meant for it to look like that. I tripped and fell and… yeah."

Shizune's eyes dimmed and she looked away from Naruto. The Hokage could just see a slight pink tone to her cheeks and he poked one of her fingers. Shizune shook her head yet that only served to make Naruto more determined; he prised her fingers apart and his eyes bugged at Shizune's face.

"You're… you're…"

It hadn't been disgust, apparently.

"You're nose… Nee-chan… you're as bad as Jiraiya!"

Evidentially that was a bad thing to say as Shizune whacked him upside the head and wiped her nose.

"So I can't just appreciate the youth of today? It's called being a pervert now is it?"

Naruto held his hands out to her, palms up in a placating gesture. Shizune was about to strike when a voice cut through the argument,

"M-Minato?"

 **動き**

Sasuke had never liked the dark. It held so many undesirable things and memories that should never be allowed to surface. Black was always associated with darkness and Sasuke wondered what exactly was wrong with the colour black.

Black was always associated with evil and was often the pioneering colour of an 'evil' person's wardrobe. But if that was so then was Orochimaru good? Just because a man wore white does not make him an honest crusader; heck Orochimaru's true snake from was even white and that didn't do anything to lessen the evil he had created.

So what exactly was black? Technically it wasn't a colour but then what was it? Just a manifestation of all the evil in the world that had clumped together? Just the shadow of former people, those who were both 'good' and 'evil' respectively?

The black hair of Madara came into view and Sasuke looked up at him.

"The rest of the team are waiting. You haven't even greeted them yet."

Sasuke rose slowly but ignored the elder man completely. As far as he was concerned, Madara wanted to use him in pretty much the same way as Orochimaru. As he had done to Orochimaru, he would do to Madara; every man had a weakness.

"When will we go against Konoha?"

Sasuke could feel the man looking him up and down and willed the Sharingan to stay dormant; the man didn't need to know that Sasuke was aware of every thought that went through his head, every dirty little thing he was thinking. He wondered briefly if this man had done anything with Itachi… ha had mentioned something about his brother having a lover.

"Patience, Sasuke. We need to plan with the team and then we'll move. There has been internal movement within Konoha and Pein told me that fool Jiraiya almost died when he fought him. We think that maybe the Hokage woman will come to find him, leaving Konoha in the hands of someone who will be more than happy to work alongside us."

Sasuke frowned and Madara smiled behind his mask.

"So we'd be able to play this battle from the inside as well as outside?"

Sasuke fought the urge to shudder as Madara chuckled and slung an arm casually around his shoulders. It was a gesture that only one other person had been able to do since the Uchiha had matured and that person had been Naruto. It was a painstaking clash; Madara and Naruto, two people who would never truly mix until Naruto was unconscious and the Kyuubi being pulled from his abdomen.

"You catch on quickly boy. If we get through this, you'll do well. I have one request when we take upon Konoha. Uzumaki Naruto is mine."

This time Sasuke didn't even try to control the Sharingan and it whirled into the Mangekyou, black coils of flame shooting towards Madara.

"IDIOT BOY!"

Sasuke shut his eyes and willed the blood limit down, just to placate the man. He needed time, a lot of it, and Madara had to think he was willing to go along with the flow of plans.

"The Akatsuki need the Kyuubi and Uzumaki will be mine."

Sasuke nodded and Madara walked on a little way. The black of his Akatsuki cloak was the focal point for Sasuke's own black eyes and his mind began to wander; Madara knew his actions were evil and was intentionally using them with an evil goal in mind. He looked down at his own clothes and frowned; his were white and unblemished… what side did that place him on if the company he kept was black?

 **動き**

Naruto turned round to see Kakashi and he smiled.

"Guess again Kakashi-sensei."

The Jounin blinked before stepping up to Naruto's side. Even though Naruto was only sixteen, it looked as if he had still a bit to grow. He almost rivalled Kakashi in terms of height and he managed to look directly into the man's eyes.

"Are you really his son?"

Naruto nodded his head to Shizune and he led Kakashi into the Hokage's – his – office.

"I'm sorry I never told you before but I was told to keep it as close wraps as possible… it's only because of certain circumstances that I will be taking upon his name."

Kakashi sat down in the chair and Naruto watched as the man mulled thing over. He knew it would take a heavy toll on his teacher; the man had dealt with the guilt of failure, seeing his own Sensei fall to his death with the illusion that the baby he had held was a simple orphan.

"There's other stuff to come, Kakashi-sensei. Tsunade left Konoha."

Kakashi's head snapped up and he looked at Naruto. The blond man stood at the window overlooking Konoha. The way he stood, especially with the name etched onto his cloak, made Kakashi see the true resemblance between his teacher and his student.

"She left Konoha? But she's the Hokage Naruto!"

Naruto walked back to the desk and bit his lip; he would have to be careful here to make it seem as though everything hadn't been planned. Naruto had looked out the window for Itachi and, sure enough, a raven had been sitting watching the goings on in the room.

"The Advisors told me that she left Konoha to go help Jiraiya-sensei. She had appointed a successor and they used the emergency clause thingy to put that person in position. The Advisors would have to disobey a direct order and put Konoha into a state of military action before they could change her decision."

Kakashi nodded, recalling the ANBU training and what they had told them back then.

"Jiraiya-sensei told her of my training over the three years… you may not have seen it but I've changed a lot. Living in woods does that to you."

Kakashi tilted his head, a startled look in his eye,

"Are you trying to say…?"

Naruto closed his eyes and grinned at his teacher.

"I made Hokage."

Blue eyes widened as he was enveloped in a huge hug and he smiled into the embrace and even hugged back. It was nice to know that he was loved by someone enough that they would not even hesitate with such body contact.

"I've called some other people and… hey, why are you here first?"

Kakashi let go of Naruto and rubbed the back of his head.

"I heard some rumours that the Yondaime was back from the grave and I decided to pay my old sensei a visit. Turns out that it wasn't the Yondaime that wanted my presence but the Rokudaime… it's a funny world eh Naruto?" When Naruto didn't answer, he continued,

"I lived so long thinking that maybe if things had gone differently, Minato-sensei would still be here, there would be a Namikaze clan in Konoha and everything would be fine and yet it was under my nose the whole time. I had suspicions – who didn't notice the similarities – but I had heard someone talking about the type of seal and how they thought that the Yondaime passed his characteristics onto you through that.

"If only I hadn't been so blind… even with the Sharingan you managed to elude me Hokage-sama and I may just have to turn up even later to meetings from now on."

Naruto smiled at Kakashi's attempts to tell him that he was sorry, that he wished he had been there and that there was so much he wanted to do. Naruto had thought about it once, after knowing that Kakashi had been on his father's team, and wondered if Minato had lived that if he and Kakashi would have had a sibling-type relationship. It was a heart warming though and yet their relationship now was even more important because he had forged it himself, without the help of another.

Naruto chuckled and walked over to the window. He held out an arm for the raven to land on and the bird hopped over to the appendage, cawing noisily as he did so. Naruto retracted his arm and stroked the bird absentmindedly.

"You'll have a lot on your plate then… I wish you the best of luck. I would like to see the true abilities of yours Naruto someday… maybe we can arrange a spar sometime?"

Naruto chuckled before inclining his head.

"If I survive Sakura… I have a feeling she'll hit me. A lot."

"Why would I do that?"

Both Naruto and Kakashi tensed yet Naruto's was far more noticeable. The Itachi-raven flew into the air and Sakura shrieked, knowing full well who used ravens. The raven settled on the Hokage chair and Sakura looked stunted for a second.

"Where's Tsunade-sama?"

Kakashi patted Naruto on the back and took his leave, leaving the remainder of the group looking at their new Hokage without a clue. With a sigh (for the talk with Kakashi had taken a lot out of him, surprisingly enough), Naruto spoke clearly,

"To cut a long story short… Tsunade's gone to help Jiraiya and she left me as her successor."

Iruka clapped his hands and hugged the man – similar to the way Kakashi had. Naruto had a feeling that Iruka knew about the difference between twelve year old Naruto and sixteen year old Naruto. Knowing someone since their school days and caring for them in little ways was a brilliant way to notice changes in a person.

Yamato congratulated Naruto with a smile and a ruffle to his hair. Naruto then joked about the ANBU captain being his subordinate… until he had used the classic scary face. Naruto had bolted behind Iruka and whimpered. Yes, whimpered.

Sai's reaction had been somewhat unexpected. He had broken into a true smile and stood right in front of Naruto's face. Naruto hadn't seen the tongue coming until he felt a slimy trail on his cheek and he instinctively punched Sai… or the air where Sai had been.

"I heard it's what some animals do to show respect."

Naruto had groaned and the raven had cawed in agreement with the Hokage. It was odd; Itachi seemed more open in this avian form.

It was Sakura's reaction that he had been dreading and she looked at him with confusion clear in her eyes.

"I don't really understand Naruto…"

Naruto put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly. It was such a monumental change, even more so because she was Sakura. She knew how he trained – had seen the amount of effort he'd put into the Fuuton Rasengan – and yet actually knew very little about him. She had been absent for a huge period in his life, the period that Kakashi had been briefed on by Jiraiya, although not to the extent that everything was revealed.

Sakura had been the one left here in Konoha while the remaining Genin on her team, their team, had taken to the real world. They had seen the world while she had been the one left at home. Of course she had grown – wonderfully too – but there were things she lacked.

She was innocently clinging onto a life she knew she had to let go of yet a few tatters remained. The recent skirmish with Sasuke in Konoha had filled her mind with pressure too; after all, Sasuke had seen her when she was ready to drop from exhaustion, had asked for her to look for Naruto which then, in turn, placed more pressure on here because she hadn't been able to find him and then panic had set in.

She was emotionally, physically and mentally fatigued; drained of life, and to have this bombshell dropped upon her as such was a little harsh… yet necessary. Naruto had to show her that he had changed, had to show her that she could develop in so many ways. After all, was he not only a Jinchuuriki but a young man? Gaara had made Kazekage at an early age with the same limitations as Naruto and now the two would have to prove they were the strongest Kages in the history of Shinobi life.

"I know and I'm sorry Sakura. When you think you can accept it, please come back to see me… I want to discuss something with you."

Naruto looked at the group. In truth he was surprised; there had been no blood, no pain and no shouts. It was the opposite scenario to what he thought would have occurred.

"The official announcement will be tomorrow I think… If you could all come back tomorrow evening, I want to smooth things over and celebrate with you."

The group nodded and Naruto smiled. These people were his family, the family he needed in such a time, and even with Sakura's discomfort and confusion, she managed to smile sincerely at his 'promotion'.

The plans were beginning to be put into motion and Naruto only hoped that Konoha would be as accepting as this small group had been.

The raven cawed once more as the group left and Naruto's reserved smile emerged.

"Thank you Itachi."

Naruto was startled as he felt a chest press against his back and shivers travelled up his spine as Itachi's low voice spoke. There was nothing else that had made him feel this way before and his mind drew back to remember the incident a short while ago before speaking to Kakashi. What was it about Itachi that Naruto was drawn to?

"That's quite alright Hokage-sama. Congratulations by the way."

Naruto smiled and he knew Itachi could see it without looking. They looked out of the window, neither attempting to shove off the half embrace. Both of them knew that these quiet periods, times when they could just be themselves were numbered and both secretly vowed to make the most of what they had.

Neither noticed the small spark that opened its eyes in each of their hearts but that didn't matter to the spark; they would notice soon enough.

 **Sin**

 **any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a wilful or deliberate violation of moral principle**

 **罪**

The sun was high in the sky and the weather was beautifully warm. Naruto could only hope that this was a good omen for what was going to take place later that day. The announcement was to be held at midday yet the ANBU and many Jounin had already been informed partially of the situation. They didn't know who the Hokage was yet but the Oni had informed them – as protocol – that they would not need to take military action as a successor had been selected. The actual identity of the Rokudaime was disclosed but that didn't matter for now.

The ceremony itself was nothing like Naruto had ever imagined. He had walked through the Hokage tower to the penultimate floor and through the ceremonial halls. He had drunken the Sake that had been laid out as an offering and taken one sip of the chrysanthemum tea that had been imported especially. Itachi had informed him that this was due to the tea that was said to clear the eyes and liver, therefore clearing out the stress anger and yin deficiency that the liver was associated with.

Maybe he should get some of this tea for Itachi – to help with his eyes. Naruto was sure that the Sharingan would take effect again at some point; regardless to the amount Itachi used it.

Shaking his head, Naruto focused back on the ceremony. Instead of re-donning the white traditional robes, Naruto opted to retain his black and orange cloak. At first the Advisors had been against the motion but Naruto reminded them that they were hardly at the best time to be talking about cloaks; Konohagakure would most likely be going to war and there was no point in getting blood stains on a white coat.

The Namikaze lettering had been moved over to Naruto's heart and the kanji for 'Rokudaime' were grafted onto the back of the fabric. Apparently it had been easy; there had been sure skill when the cloak was made and this had made the whole process far easier.

Naruto moved over to the opening onto the balcony. Koharu was announcing the Rokudaime and Naruto could feel his heart beat wildly in his ears, almost as if it wanted to erupt from his chest.

"Namikaze Naruto."

Naruto stepped out, as rehearsed earlier, complete with black and orange hat. The reception he received was startling, people actually cheered. A tear slipped from the corner of Naruto's eye as he realised that this, his Konoha, was home. He was the Hokage and Konoha would be entering a secret war if everything panned out in the way it was looking. Following his predecessors, Naruto would give everything for these people.

He finally understood why his father had made the ultimate sacrifice. He understood why the Sandaime had called every citizen of Konoha his family… the village, the Hokage, the people… they were all one.

"Under the Acceptance clause, Namikaze Naruto, son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato, has been chosen by Godaime Hokage Tsunade as official Rokudaime."

The rest had been a blur for Naruto as he had seen the people of Konoha looking up, some in adoration. Where was the Kyuubi gaki now? Where were the hated stares, the hurtful punches… with their Rokudaime in place Konohagakure would learn a kindness that no other Hokage could demonstrate; not even the Yondaime. Naruto knew the sheer pain of suffering and he would try with all his might (and the Kyuubi's) to ease the suffering of anyone within his village.

There had been objectors – of course – that had come to the Advisors after the announcement. They had demanded that the demon was to be removed from his position yet the Oni had no choice but to defend Naruto. Tsunade had signed official documents declaring Konoha under threat of war and her choice was not to be torn up unless in valid consequence. Homura had then mentioned the Suna-Konoha alliance… and the fact that it was bound to grow stronger with Naruto in the seat of power; no one could deny that.

It wasn't until the night had grown dark that people burst into Naruto's – Naruto's – office. Kiba staggered in first with red cheeks (even behind the clan marks) and hiccoughed loudly. He pulled along Hinata and Shino who were, predictably, followed by the rest of Naruto's group of friends.

"Hey… Nar'to my frieeend! Why didn't you tell ush? We're such great buds!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow as Kiba spoke in a drunken slur.

"Don't mind him Naruto… he just got a little pissed after finding out that you're better than you let on."

Naruto nodded at Ino and smiled,

"Thank you everyone… it's all kind of sudden, would it be okay for you to return tomorrow or something? I'm literally buzzing!"

The group murmured words of congratulations and apologies, the loudest being Kiba's as he promised that he would return tomorrow… with more alcohol. Naruto had never expected his friends to be this accepting but he was almost sure that someone (he would bet Sai) had been drugging them all up with various liquors since before the announcement.

The door clicked shut and Naruto watched Sakura from the corner of his eyes.

"Naruto… last night it hit me… and now, you're really Hokage… what about S-Sasuke?"

"Tsunade chose me specifically for this task and I plan to help this village. She had her own reasons for choosing me and I'm not sure why. I won't give up on Sasuke – I can't." Naruto's voice sounded fake to his own ears yet there was nothing more he could do; he had his part to play.

Sakura's eyes were downcast and Naruto suddenly had the urge to say something, anything,

"I'm sorry for not telling you of everything during those three years. I was trained to the full potential and… after I found out that the Yondaime was my father, well it drove me forward. Jiraiya said it would be best to keep a low profile with the Akatsuki on the move."

When Naruto had been announced as the son of Namikaze Minato earlier, the crowd had cheered brilliantly and the sound had been so loud. Sakura had forgotten what the women had said before, that night when they thought the Yondaime had returned. It seemed it had been Naruto then… she would never have thought that the loudmouthed brat could have been the Yondaime's son…

… But he wasn't a loudmouth brat anymore. Anyone would have been blind and it appeared that Konoha was blind.

She moved to open her mouth but was interrupted with a loud caw as a black bird soared through the open window. Naruto tilted his shoulder slightly to allow for the birds weight and smiled. Sakura, on the other hand, drew in a sharp breath and narrowed her eyes.

"How can you allow that – that thing near you? Are you forgetting that Itachi used them? If such a bird will side with a man as hideous as that then it is the bird too that causes the sin. Kill it, Naruto, and let us be rid of one more sin."

Naruto frowned at her words and shuffled back slightly as if to put distance between her. If it had been a disgusting beast then Naruto could possibly have seen where she was coming from but he had had similar words said about – and to – him. This raven wasn't doing any harm and Itachi was one of the kindest men Naruto had ever met. Half the people in Konoha wouldn't do half of what Itachi had done; the man was a true hero, just one who had lost sight of his path.

To call it a sin, an abomination…

Of course he did understand where she was coming from; Sakura had most likely been in a Genjutsu forced by Itachi at some point, and she had seen firsthand evidence at what he was able to cause. Her former crush and team member had become practically insane from his influences and as much as it hurt Naruto, he could vent it out slightly through the training and promise to get him back. Sakura had had to remain here, where the wound was constantly open and it had festered, confusing her mind.

"If you are unable to act in proper accordance, Sakura-san, then you will be forced to call me Hokage-sama or Naruto-sama. I do not want such talk in my office; this bird is a trusted friend and once belonged to someone I would trust the world with."

Sakura chocked slightly and she bit her lip.

"I know this still must be a shock for you Sakura but I wanted to ask you… would you be able to take over the hospital and report anything and everything to me? I can trust only a handful of people at the moment to do such important jobs and it would mean the world to me."

Naruto waited patiently and stroked Itachi's head in a soothing gesture. He knew Itachi wanted to leave the room yet the warm hand over his feathers kept him in the room, waiting for Sakura's verdict. Naruto wasn't convinced that he was one hundred per cent ready to do anything alone; he had only just taken the seat and he was still a teen, one who had grown up – of course he had – yet the maturity level was still just over his head. He could reach it yet it wasn't comfortable in any way.

"It would be an honour, Hokage-sama."

Naruto flinched at the use of the name but nodded his head,

"It is unfortunate that we cannot see the same light, Sakura-san, but I hope that we will be able to re-knit our friendship. If I get any leads on Sasuke, you will be the first to be informer if I am not bound by anything."

Sakura bowed her head once more and left without a single word. Naruto hardly blamed her for anything; to her Naruto had been a simple idiot one moment and then the Hokage. With everything that happened with Sasuke, Naruto wouldn't be surprised if she saw it as a betrayal.

The Itachi-raven hopped onto the desk and merged back to the Itachi-human. Naruto looked at him with weary eyes and smiled softly. He could just see Itachi's features from the darkness of the cloak and he knew the elder was smiling in return. Just as Naruto was about to speak, there was a knock on the door and Shizune poked her head round the wood.

"You have visitors… the Advisors wish to congratulate you." Shizune had been biting her lip – from nervousness – and Naruto smiled welcomingly.

"Thank you, why don't you head back home? It's been a long day for the both of us and it'll probably be a few long nights."

Shizune nodded her head and allowed the door to swing open completely. She folded her hands over the front of her skirt and let the two Advisors enter. Homura wore a stern look on his face and Naruto fought the urge to laugh at the slight blush on his cheeks; the man had obviously been enjoying himself a little too much. Koharu was holding a paper package in her hand and a slight smirk on her face; these two were up to something.

"Ah, Naruto-sama. We hope everything is to your liking? We have successfully dealt with any opposition that arose and it appears that everything has gone smoothly. We will make sure that no other hidden villages catch wind of this development excepting the Kazekage and his people he trusts."

Naruto nodded, eyes flicking from the package in her hand to her eyes. Homura coughed and swayed slightly on his feet.

"We had better leave you now but we brought a gift for you… and Uchiha-san."

Naruto wondered why she had hesitated before Itachi's name but took the package anyway. Inside was a golden flower and he held it by the stalk gently.

"As the month is November, we thought it be best that you received the month's flower on your ceremony date," Naruto still didn't trust the look on the woman's face and lifted the flower to his nose. "We shall be going then, Naruto-sama… enjoy your flower."

The tone that had crept into her voice made Naruto pull the flower away from his face and he blushed as he noticed the petals. Itachi didn't even move as the flower fell to the ground, eyes tilted slightly in humour as they watched the centre of the flower as it hit the ground.

 **罪**

It wasn't long until rain began to fall and Tsunade knew she was reaching her destination; it made sense to the world's amount of rain to fall on one place after all. She wondered absentmindedly if she should have worn boots or something; it was bound to be muddy.

As an old lady she easily entered the city. They were hardly lax in security yet when she had stated her purpose – gambling – and shown the small bag of money she had left over from Gamatatsu's food the border patrol let her in; it seemed even Ame would let people in if money was shown.

The answer to her earlier question was soon clear; no she would not need boots. Although puddles congregated together, there were no true dips in the ground. The whole town was a mass of concrete and metal and Tsunade winced at the sheer lack of green or brown.

She walked through town, easing her wrinkles slightly. She had aged well but still hated the sight of this weakness; she had always seen age as a disability and so had invented the Genesis seal. She ran too sometimes, like Jiraiya and Orochimaru, both for very different reasons.

The hospital itself was dim and bland. Tsunade walked into the main reception to find it immaculate and smiled; even if this town was made up of Missing Nin, they still valued their lives… to an extent. The reception was empty and Tsunade realised she was the only person in the waiting area.

A note fluttered behind her and she bent to pick it up. Alongside the note there was a butterfly – crumpled and half decaying – and she picked both items up.

"Take care of the butterfly."

Tsunade frowned as the ink on the paper faded and her attention turned to the butterfly. She could only bring small and simple animals back to life… as long as the sealing scroll was beneath them that allowed this action. It was what every medic Nin trained through yet Tsunade had no other choice. She gathered her chakra and sent it to her index finger before touching a withering wing.

The wind was so much like her skin at this moment that Tsunade nearly lost the connection. The chakra persisted, however, and she gathered her thoughts, remembering the information she knew about butterflies. A jolt made her snap her eyes open and thousands of images flickered through her mind; a hundred pictures of Jiraiya and what happened to him.

"Thank you for looking after my memory, Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade turned to the voice and gasped as she saw the blue haired woman. She was holding the sheet of paper that Tsunade had neglected and allowed the blonde medic to watch as it formed the back of her hand.

"I will take you to Jiraiya now, please come this way."

Tsunade stepped next to the woman and looked at her in curiosity. The cloak she wore marked her as a member of the Akatsuki and – from Jiraiya's reports – the only woman was Pein's partner. It boiled down to trust; if Tsunade trusted her then this would run smoothly. How could she trust a woman like this, one who had power in a concrete city built to withstand the plague of destruction that was wrought upon it.

"In this crying city, you brought this butterfly back. The memory lives on because it connects us together… I only hope the same could be said for our descendants."

Tsunade blinked as she saw the butterfly hovering around the paper flower on the woman's head and held back a smile; she would trust her because she had trusted the medic with such a precious thing.

That and the woman had pretty much said the city was in ruins… Tsunade wondered if it was truly just rain on the country all year and not the tears from the gods pouring over the country in attempt to wash the earth free.

 **罪**

Contradictory to what Naruto had said to Itachi the day before, they had spent the night before the Hokage ceremony once again in the office. Naruto looked over at Itachi to see him deep in thought and he pulled the scroll from his coat pocket.

"Let's go home for the night."

Itachi broke from his reverie and looked at the Hokage with unfocused eyes. Naruto knew that the man was in deep with his thoughts and allowed his to change form and rest his feathered body against his neck. Naruto could tell that this was so hard for Itachi; to be suddenly back at his home and with such pure emotion. Naruto knew that no normal human could take it in such a way that Itachi had.

They walked along the darkening streets of Konoha, the odd person they met greeting Naruto with respect that he had never imagined he would receive. Each person got a beautiful smile in return and they carried on their way with a lighter feeling in their heart.

When they got to the second street away from the Hokage tower, there was a beautiful Shinto styled building. Naruto could tell that it was an apartment block yet it looked as if it hadn't been tended to for years, sixteen years to be exact.

They summoned the key from the scroll Tsunade had given them, it appeared Tsunade was not one to forget the little details, and opened the door. Naruto was surprised to meet little resistance and he walked into the hallway.

"It seems as though it has been split into two; the top floor and bottom floor."

Naruto nodded and ran a hand over the wall. This house was where he should have grown up, would have grown up, if not for the Kyuubi.

"There's a letter here."

Naruto walked into the downstairs kitchen and took the letter that was titled to him.

"Dear Naruto… house split into two… Kushina, Minato… eh? Ero-sennin?"

Itachi ceased his staring match with a fresh apple and looked at Naruto.

"Jiraiya was taking care of it. He thought that I'd move in when I was sixteen."

Suddenly Naruto was overcome by emotions, the real fact that Jiraiya was out there close to death and he was here, looking at what the man had done out of love for his godson.

"Itachi…"

Itachi was next to him in an instant, peering uncertainly into clouded blue eyes.

"Would you like an apple?"

It was such a normal question that Naruto began to laugh and Itachi brought over two apples. They were juicy and succulent and Naruto realised that Jiraiya must have just changed them before he left. It was odd to see such vibrant life in a house that had held little of it, excepting bugs, rodents and Jiraiya.

"Do you think Tsunade will find him?"

Itachi finished the mouthful he was chewing and spoke quietly.

"If you analyse the Akatsuki members and use that as a process of elimination, Jiraiya is currently in the hands of Konan. If you ask why it's because Kisame is obsessed with his sword and doesn't give a damn about anything else, Hidan and Kakuzu were eliminated as were Deidara and Sasori… Zetsu would do more harm than good and no patience, Pein… well Pein doesn't give two shits. In all honesty, he is the most likely one to have dealt the damage. That leaves Madara and Konan and I can hardly see Madara getting down and helping someone."

Naruto nodded and waited for the Uchiha to continue. He knew that any information about the Akatsuki would be hard to come by and for Itachi to speak so openly about it was a gift in itself.

There were small profiles on the members; more so on the dead one that the living. Itachi was most likely the exception, because he had been a Konoha Shinobi, Konoha had brought the boy up and developed his skills. No other village could lay claim to Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Itachi would lay claim to no other village.

"Konan specialises in Paper Jutsu… she even had the ability to turn herself into paper. She also uses butterflies; I don't think she ever wanted to be in Akatsuki. If there was one to revolt it would be her."

Naruto mulled over what Itachi had said; if this Konan was likely to revolt against the Akatsuki then maybe they could use her. He hated thinking like this; thinking that he could use people just to move against the Akatsuki but in the real world, people were going to lose and others were going to win. It was a natural order and Naruto couldn't afford to lose this one.

Konoha was everything to him, his life, his family, his home… there were so many memories that had been forged here and cultivated and there was no way that the Rokudaime was going to forsake his village. If he had to use people he would, even if he loathed himself for doing it. If there would be a way to help someone whilst benefitting from it himself, then Naruto would commit himself to that.

"Is there any way to get a message through to this Konan? We could use her help if possible."

"That probably won't work. I only went into Amegakure once and I saw that Pein liked to keep Konan on a short lead. He hardly let her out of the building let alone the village. Kisame used to say that the sky was crying for her but I think he may have been joking. It's hard to tell with one who looks so much like a fish."

Naruto snorted as a peal of laughter escaped him and shook his head.

"I always wondered if his mother had been a shark. I mean Zabuza wasn't that half bad… sure he had spiky teeth but give me them over gills and blue skin anyway."

"You didn't get the pleasure of travelling to the Onsen with him. Unfortunately it was compulsory but… even with the Sharingan deactivated it burned a mental picture I would rather have never gotten in there."

Itachi's white knuckles rapped against his head and Naruto laughed. It was only a moment of comic relief but it meant a lot to the pair.

"I never would have thought you one for jokes Itachi." He paused for a moment and frowned, "I feel closer to you than I have been with anyone for a while… even Sasuke. We never just talked; it was always hurling insults or sparring. I even wondered what true friendship was."

Itachi sighed loudly and smiled a little in Naruto's direction. He didn't want to approach the subject of his brother just yet; the day had been long, an event to celebrate and there was no reason to ruin it now. For once, Sasuke could be the one to wait. Itachi had spent his whole life for the younger and maybe, just maybe, now really was the time to put it all behind him.

"Shall we go explore the remainder of the house? You never know, there may be some photographs of your family."

Naruto's visage brightened and he ran up the stairs, close to using the speeds of the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Itachi shook his head and chuckled before following his Hokage upstairs.

There were three rooms, two bedrooms and a bathroom. Whereas downstairs had a kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom, this apartment was obviously meant for the main couple while a nanny or grandparent lived downstairs. This was due to the bright colours in the child's bedroom – and all the baby accessories.

Naruto sat in the rocking chair holding a blue teddy. The teddy wore a mask, vest and Hitai-ate like Kakashi and a tag on its paw announced it to be from the Jounin. Naruto had never felt this sadness crushing down so harshly before; he had been loved before the Kyuubi. He had had a family, a place to live where someone had prepared things for him.

The cot had been hand carved – he could see that from the personal detail of the design, small ramen cups and Uzumaki spirals taking part of the decoration – and the sheets lay yellowing slightly from the sixteen years of being untouched.

There was a group of photographs – Kushina, Minato and even Team Minato, Jiraiya and the Sandaime peering through the glass – standing on the desk and Naruto picked up each frame. It hurt to see his mother in varying stages of pregnancy but it also warmed him. It suddenly overwhelmed Naruto and the glass frame slipped through his fingers. His bare toes curled in instinct, in case the glass did shatter yet a hand found its way onto Naruto's arm, just catching the frame before it hit the wooden floor.

"I-Itachi?"

Itachi placed the photograph back on the desk and smiled beautifully at Naruto.

"You're lucky to have photos of your family… I was never able to return for mine and I'm sure Sasuke would hardly have appreciated me swarming in with a camera. We should get some of your old photos in her too just to brighten the place up. What will you do with the baby equipment?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders,

"I don't really want to move it… maybe if someone I know has kids and I baby sit then this can be their room."

Itachi raised an eyebrow and walked to the door. He had picked up on the usage of words and decided to question Naruto on them.

"No children of your own Naruto?"

They walked into the Yondaime's former bedroom and Naruto smiled. The room was a beautiful blue and cream colour and the moon shone in weakly through the French windows that opened onto a small balcony. There was a small pond outside the house and Naruto suddenly found that he had bumped noses with the glass.

"Do you mind if I have this room Itachi? And in answer to your question I guess the Advisors were on the spot with the flower earlier."

Itachi looked away as Naruto's eyes flashed a warning in his direction. The message was clear; do not laugh. Unfortunately Itachi found it hilarious that the Advisors – the two senile fools who were Naruto's secret opposition – had given him that flower, of all of them, been right on the dot and managed to embarrass the man all in one.

"Of course not, I understand. I shall take the room downstairs then."

He had been expecting that, of course, as from the moment he stepped inside of the door, Naruto's eyes had brightened in uncontained remembrance. He would have been remembering the image of the man on the mountain, his father and Yondaime, remembering – or at least trying to – what the feel of Kushina's arms had been like and how much he had cried around her.

Naruto nodded and thanked Itachi quietly. Itachi walked calmly over to the window and stood side by side with Naruto. Their eyes flickered from the reflection to the actual moon outside, drinking in the beauty of something so simple.

It was odd to think that the moon, this glorious and wonderful moon, was so many miles away. It was untouchable, free of all earthly inhibitions.

But as for the amount of time it spent representing love or being mentioned in love stories, the moon would find no love. It was a ridiculous notion anyway as the moon was simply the moon, a satellite of the earth attracted by gravity and whatnot. It could not feel, it didn't even have a brain, and yet Naruto wondered if ever the moon became lonely. If he were in that position, brain or not, he would be terribly lonely.

There was also always the possibility that the loneliness could consume you, turning you into something that you would never want to be and never wish for.

Could that be why the moon was 'reborn' every month? Not the scientific reason, for where was the romance in that? Maybe the mood got so sick of being lonely; she vanished from the skies, from space, and was never heard of – merely replaced at the next lunar month.

It was a thought…

"The moon's very nice tonight…"

Naruto looked at Itachi with a sour look on his face.

"If I didn't know better, Mr. Uchiha, I'd say that you were coming onto me."

Naruto blushed deeply as Itachi bent down slightly and gave a soft kiss to his cheek. It was an unprecedented action that seemed to come out of an unlikely conversation yet the touch came out naturally.

"Just so you know, Naruto," he said as he breezed from the room, "they most likely should have given me that flower as well."

The door shut and Naruto's fingers rose to his cheek.

Did he just…?

 **Evaluation**

 **to judge or determine the significance, worth, or quality of**

 **評価する**

Naruto had never experienced the dark to be so unforgiving – so cold – on any other night; not even when Itachi had been on the brink of death. There had been one time that came close; the night after Sasuke left, it had been a night where Naruto had spilt more tears than blinks.

Now the atmosphere was different; Naruto was aware of everything in the house. Every now and then he would remove the pillow from over his head just to check that he could still hear Itachi's breathing from downstairs. It was obsessive behaviour but Naruto didn't spare a thought for that, his mind was reeling over the last few words that Itachi had spoken,

They most likely should have given me that flower…

So Uchiha Itachi was gay? Was that a safe assumption? Judging from the kiss Itachi felt something for him, but what was it exactly? Just an attraction? Or something more… lust maybe? Naruto didn't think it was love – it was Itachi for crying out loud. If he hadn't known Itachi as well as he did now he would have compared the man's emotional state to that of a rock; nonexistent. Itachi was a kind man beneath his façade but he knew the man wouldn't just accept love in this way; Itachi was similar to Naruto in this sense.

The pillow was hurled back over his ears, dulling his senses once more. A groan escaped his lips before he could stop it and the Rokudaime Hokage dug his head further into the pillow below him, wishing for it to swallow him up in some way.

'Why does it have to be so difficult to sleep? I'm tired, my body knows that but the fucking thing in my skull won't accept it.' Naruto poked the side of his head, 'Who really needs one of these anyway? No one needs a brain… being a zombie would be great, no emotions to ponder just peace and a bit of moaning now and again; you're set!'

Naruto could literally see the roll of the Kyuubi's eyes. If the Kyuubi knew how idiotic its vessel could be at times then Naruto thought that the mighty fox may contemplate suicide (yes it sometimes got that bad).

Naruto's fingers twitched and he did nothing to stop them from removing the pillow for the millionth time. The sound of Konoha at night washed over his senses as he became aware of everything and he strained to hear Itachi's breathing. He was surprised to see that it had changed and that the man wasn't even in his own room.

Naruto blushed as the realisation of where the man was hit him. The sound of piss hitting the toilet bowl made the blush darken and the pillow was hastily thrown over his ears. A few moments later, a hand reached up to gingerly take the pillow down and Naruto rolled onto his back as he heard Itachi finish up.

Naruto ignored the heat on his cheeks that grew when he thought of the motions Itachi would be doing. The man would have had to touch himself to urinate in the correct place and Naruto screwed his eyes up to stop from visioning other things. He felt perverted enough that he even thought of his guest in that slight way, if he allowed the thoughts to continue then who knows what would happen. Well he knew and it involved getting sticky and then having to go to the bathroom (which then held the possibility of actually seeing Itachi) and ending in embarrassment. In conclusion it would just be easier and safer to deter from these emotions now before they got too out of hand.

Nothing could stop him from exploring just a little though could it? A hand crept south as the sound of Itachi coughing reached his ears. Naruto wasn't surprised to feel that he was half aroused; he had been batting away dirty thoughts of course. It didn't take long for Naruto to coax his self to full attention and he felt the slight stickiness leak out a little.

Naruto shifted about on the mattress to find a position to get comfortable in and bit his lip. It was disrespectful to be thinking of Itachi in this light… especially after just a kiss on the cheek! Hell he didn't even know anything about the man but that didn't stop the movement of the hand.

Naruto's leg twitched and he suddenly jerked his hand out from his pants and laid it on top of the covers. He curled his legs into a foetal position and the pillow once again crowned his head. He refused to touch the hand he had used to pleasure his self with and closed his eyes, screwing them up tightly.

Even if it was unbearable he would rather deal with this and the cold shower in the morning that the guilt he knew he would feel when he looked at Itachi. Naruto knew he would never take anyone's affections lightly or for granted and this act felt like a betrayal. Itachi didn't even know that Naruto… liked him? Did Naruto like Itachi? Naruto junior certainly did but that didn't mean Naruto senior did.

Naruto flung the pillow over the other side of the room with a growl and scrunched his eyes up. His whole body stiffened and he bolted upright as a tap on the door sounded.

"Naruto? Are you alright?"

Naruto cursed under his breath and prayed that Itachi wouldn't open the door. When he spoke his voice was shaky and he just hoped that Itachi wouldn't pick up on it,

"I'm fine Itachi… just the pillow was at the wrong angle so yeah! Night!"

Naruto tucked his head under the covers and waited until he was sure that Itachi had gone. He lifted the covers off from his ears and looked at the door, half expecting it to burst open and Itachi's figure to be revealed. To his relief, all Naruto could hear was Itachi back in bed, breathing as if he was slipping into sleep.

The blond rested his head on his bicep and sighed heavily. His problem hadn't gone away yet but he was at a stand-still with it. Blue eyes narrowed as he glared at the pillow sitting innocently in the corner.

'It's the entire pillow's fault.'

That's right, always blame objects that can't speak, smooth Naruto.

Naruto smiled and closed his eyes, feeling marginally better for having identified the source of his problems.

 **評価する**

Madara looked at the man – child, his mind corrected – before him and smirked. The kid knew nothing about the real world or how to get you own way through other people, sure he had collated this team for his greater goal of killing Itachi but he hadn't truly been able to use them in the way Madara used the Akatsuki. For Madara's goals, many good Shinobi had fallen for very little gain on their behalf.

"You lack discipline."

Madara disguised his words behind the phrase Itachi had been so fond of saying to his brother in hopes of bringing out the emotion in the child. Discipline, hate; what were they but negative emotions that coincided eventually. Without discipline you will experience hate and without hate there will be no need for discipline, two words forever entwined.

Sasuke's team would go after the other Bijuu while Akatsuki would take down Naruto. Sasuke had said that he only wanted to kill the elders but to get to them he would have to fight through Konoha; the Hidden Village would hardly pass up an opportunity to eliminate any threats, especially as the Akatsuki had just taken out one of the Hokage's closest. Konoha probably still operated on the same 'teamwork and friendship' system that the infernal Shodai operated upon.

He could feel the other Shinobi tense as the sword was blocked with just Madara's arm but he didn't care. He needed Sasuke to cooperate and for him to feel – most importantly – as if he was in control.

Madara guessed he had Itachi to thank for this; the man had showed him that Sasuke needed to be shown that it was completely his own choice otherwise he would refuse. Instead of backing him into a corner, Itachi had placed a long reined lead on him. It allowed him total space to move around yet Itachi had still been the one on the other ends, steering Sasuke into his wanted direction. Now it was Madara's turn.

The words slipped easily; it was too easy to say that he'd give up one of the Bijuu for Sasuke's needs. A chakra monster, one that contained power that was unimaginable, one Hashirama had given on behalf of Konoha as a gift. Madara had tried to persuade the man that the Bijuu were not to be given as gifts and that the man could use his blood to control that power, the very power Madara wished to control (and did when his eyes had been in their top form) yet the Hokage had disagreed and offered them to other nations in hopes of peace.

"You're generous," Madara smiled at the Uchiha's words.

"But betray Akatsuki and you're dead."

Everyone knew this, even Sasuke. It was hardly a threat but Madara needed the kid to know he was serious. Akatsuki was for the big boys, so to speak, and Falcon was just a unit off of them. If they became disposable then Madara would find a way to get rid of them, end of story. He couldn't let Sasuke near Konoha just yet; if he did then there was always the chance (how ever slim) that Sasuke would escape his grasp and do things his own way. Now that Sasuke had been 'handed' over to him, Madara had no intention of letting his new acquaintance off on its own.

Madara left the makeshift group in Kisame's company and went down to the area Zetsu would be in. The 'Flytrap' upon his head was closed but Madara knew the man would be more than capable that speaking.

Madara had promised Itachi that he wouldn't touch Konoha… but now that he was dead, who was he to keep a dead man's promise? Itachi was rotting flesh now; if Konoha hadn't taken him, no doubt some animal had. There was quite a bounty on his body and he would have retrieved it his self if Sasuke had wanted the eyes. Other than them, Itachi's body was just like any other body; worthless.

Zetsu opened up a little and Madara looked sideways at the man.

"I've won Sasuke over."

And that was the most important thing.

 **評価する**

By the time Naruto was in his office, he was almost ninety nine point eight per cent sure that he was attracted to Itachi. Breakfast had been a quiet affair; Itachi had asked a few questions and Naruto had responded as little as possible, mainly due to the fact that he still nursed the evidence from the previous night. Itachi had caught him on his way to the bathroom and the Hokage had no choice other than to follow behind.

With every bite of his food that Itachi had made, blue eyes had followed. The man had acted as though nothing happened the night before and it both annoyed and excited Naruto. As soon as Itachi had finished, Naruto excused his presence from the table and scarpered up to the bathroom to destroy his arousal. The ice water did the trick, if leaving his skin a healthy blue.

Itachi sat next to him at this point, close enough for Naruto to wish for the pillow that blocked the sound of the elder's breathing out. Naruto was checking through documents and mission reports that needed the Hokage's official signature but the paperwork did nothing to stop his mind wandering over to the man next to him. Placing down the calligraphy brush he was using, Naruto half turned in his seat to look at Itachi. He was about to speak when a knock at the door sounded and Shizune poked her head in,

"Sakura-san wishes to see you."

Naruto nodded and Itachi changed into a raven. Naruto was genuinely interested in what Sakura had to say but it couldn't have been at a worse time.

"Hokage-sama," the respect was clear in Sakura's voice and Naruto hated it. She was his team mate, trusted friend and ally.

"I wanted to apologise for my actions yesterday. It was wrong of me to say those things about your… bird."

Naruto looked into Sakura's eyes and smiled at her.

"That's okay Sakura-chan."

The pink hair of the woman bounced as she threw her slightly bowed head up to look incredulously at the Hokage. Her eyes sparkled and Naruto realised that they held unshed tears.

"N-Naruto?"

Naruto nodded and found himself engulfed in a hug. He patted her on the back gently, unsure really of how to deal with the situation. It was great that she was back as his friend and that she had accepted everything but Naruto was unsure how this would affect his plans. Would she want to be involved?

"Would you still take the job for the hospital? I will pull you out if a mission occurs but we will need to turn around productivity and the level of our healers."

Sakura nodded and Naruto smiled. Itachi-raven flew from the window, over the desk before landing on Naruto's shoulder. Naruto had to remember that this was a raven and not exactly Itachi as he felt the close proximity of the man (raven). The bird opened its black beak and cawed loudly. Sakura took a step back and Naruto placed a somewhat reluctant hand on the feathered head.

"Shhh, Sakura-chan doesn't like birds."

"Naruto it's a bird, it can hardly understand what you are saying."

Apparently that was the wrong thing for Sakura to have said as the Itachi-raven decided to change perches and landed on Sakura's shoulder. The woman tried her hardest to remain still yet she glared weakly at the bird.

"Naruto get your fucking animal off of me."

Her voice was bitter and angry and Naruto called to the raven. Naruto began to feel uneasiness creeping into his body; there was a chance that Itachi was doing exactly what Tsunade had suggested but to do it in this way? Sakura had only just forgiven him – if you could call it that, maybe acceptance was the true emotion involved – for the bird and he hated to use Itachi like this.

"Come on then."

The bird tilted its head and red flashed into its eyes. Naruto then realised what exactly the raven wanted him to say and he shook his head. If Naruto said the birds name then Sakura would do something drastic.

"Just come on."

Sakura shuddered as Itachi cawed and Naruto knew he had no other option.

"Itachi…"

The raven took flight as Sakura gasped.

"Y-you called it… that thing his name?"

Naruto didn't flinch as Sakura's palm hit his face and her grit his teeth to avert the stinging pain. He could hear Itachi-raven caw loudly in protest and wondered if, had the man been in a human form, he would have objected so loudly.

"I will give Shizune your detailed list of duties. For now I'm taking you off of the active Shinobi list… if there is a mission that involves the Uchiha you most likely will be wanted as medic."

Sakura paled as she caught the threat behind Naruto – the Hokage's – words and she stepped back with her head bowed.

"Of course, Naruto."

The door clicked shut and Naruto collapsed onto his chair. He understood why she had hit him; the frustration behind everything had simply been too much to bear and it just so happened that Sakura instigated the fight reflex. Some people would run away from their problems, others would draw them into themselves to appear more confident, put on a façade of confidence to overcome them and then others would simply hit back at what was the cause of discomfort.

"Why the hell did you do that!"

And Naruto was sure it had dropped to around eighty per cent now.

"Because it was necessary. If Haruno-san started to meddle too close to her affairs she would discover Konoha's internal battle. You know her and know what she would do if something like that arose."

Naruto reluctantly nodded in agreement; the man was right really (creeping back up to eighty five per cent) Sakura would have sought help either through Kakashi or Yamato and neither of them needed to know anything. It had been what he had thought, and what Tsunade had suggested.

"It just seems a little harsh, driving everyone away like this."

Itachi sat up straight and pulled the cloak over his eyes,

"Maybe you shouldn't have saved me."

"Don't start this again, please!"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders and Naruto rubbed his eyes. He looked down at the dry signature on the scroll and pushed the calligraphy set to the side of his desk. There was no point in continuing the fruitless signing when there were so many other questions on his mind.

"Itachi, do you love Sasuke?"

Itachi tilted his head down and a dark strand of hair fell from the hood. The man was silent for a long while and Naruto thought he wasn't going to reply. Naruto knew it was an insensitive question but both men had never really been anything except blunt and to the point; dodging around topics as such was hardly fitting for a trained killer. He reached for the calligraphy set once again yet froze when Itachi spoke,

"Without a doubt I used to. I still do, to an extent, but he lacks abilities. It was true when I told him he lacked hatred… did you know he's never killed anyone without a reason?"

Naruto shook his head and Itachi chuckled dryly. He had always assumed that, during Sasuke's time with Orochimaru, the younger Uchiha's hands would be covered in the blood of others and that had been the significant reason for the change in Sasuke. He hadn't been scared to kill anyone. Now that Naruto knew it was not the case, he wondered where the change had truly come from; had Sasuke just morphed all his hatred and avenge into his body, his mind, and allowed it to consume him?

"I'd even go so far as to say that I'm the only one he's killed… aside from Orochimaru," Itachi snorted, "As if that makes me feel any better."

Itachi leant back in his chair and sighed deeply.

"And you? Do you love Sasuke?"

Naruto was slightly startled at the question but scrambled his thoughts together to answer.

"I wouldn't say love… it's hard to completely love someone who placed their arm through your chest. I don't know if I see him as a brother, I mean he came back here looking for me and my clone even told him to chase me but… he didn't. If you hadn't been with me then, if it hadn't been for the fact that I needed to look after you and get you on your own feet – so to speak – I think I may have seen it as a betrayal; worse than the first one. He doesn't even have the excuse of the cursed seal anymore."

Naruto paused and picked up another mission report, scanning it over but not allowing any words to enter his brain.

"I used to love him. If I saw him now… I don't know what I would do."

Itachi patted Naruto's arm and blue eyes looked into the darkness of the cloak,

"Sometimes it's better not knowing."

 **評価する**

Madara was back in Amegakure to check in with Pein. It wouldn't be long before the Akatsuki marched towards Konoha and he needed to finalise a few things with Pein. The rain fell – as usual – yet Madara felt nothing as the water seeped through his clothing. The missing Nin that made up the city's population milled around, no one really bothering about the rain, after all this was Amegakure and rain was to be expected from every passing second.

Madara turned his head as he saw familiar blue hair. Konan walked alone, a piece of paper clenched in one hand and something else cupped in the other. He didn't really care what she was doing; all he knew was that she was loyal enough to Pein. That was all that really mattered in this situation. He followed her form until she walked into the hospital and he shook his head; even clothed women never ceased to amuse him, after all what would she want in a hospital?

He didn't bother to take the time and find out though, rather, he walked towards the monster like building where he knew Pein would be. The male welcomed him with a glance over and a nod. Madara returned the nod and stepped through the doorway, leaving the metal structure to clang as the door shut.

"To what do we owe this honour Madara?"

The man sat on the chair that was offered and looked into the dead fireplace.

"I've come to inform you that Konan and your self will be moving soon. I have obtained a final deal striker in the form of Uchiha Sasuke so if he cannot be taken discreetly – it has to be discreetly – by force then I want you to just talk with him. Tell him that we will kill the Uchiha if he doesn't cooperate… and lie to him if you must. Say something like the Kyuubi will be able to be extracted as well as keeping him alive. He's an idiot from what we have collected and should believe anything we say."

The auburn haired man nodded slowly, eyes hauntingly staring at the orange mask before him. There was a hollow quality to them, as if he was a man who had seen too much in such a little time and yet still held the passion of destroying everything he touched.

"Is he working under a sub?"

Madara nodded; there was no point in hiding anything from the Rinnegan and it would also damage any future business Madara wanted the man to carry out.

"Team Falcon, I reordered his Hebi."

Pein chuckled,

"Do you think he gets the taunt within the name?"

Madara shook his head,

"He doesn't think about things such as that… in fact it was mainly him who chose the name. I suggested a couple and he seemed to favour Falcon. Ironic really."

Pein nodded and mused aloud,

"Falcons belong to the Falconidae family and so naturally hunt birds from the Corvidae family… didn't Itachi favour Ravens and crows?"

Madara chuckled.

"Why do you think I favoured Falcon? Of course Sasuke will never understand the true animal meanings behind it but it is fun for us to see that it's there right in front of him. If Itachi were still alive I wouldn't have chosen the name, who would want to tempt the fates?"

Pein looked at the man,

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that crows would flock together and then ambush the Falcon that was chasing them. Very intelligent, both Itachi and his birds, but both died in the end. He can't control his birds in death nor can he pose as opposition."

Pein nodded in agreement.

"It's a shame… he had so much potential too."

Madara stood to leave,

"Let's not cry over spilt milk eh? Be ready to go for Konoha when I give the order."

Pein nodded and dropped back onto his chair as the man left. He was ready to retrieve the Kyuubi, so ready that he missed what was going on under his nose.

 **評価する**

Naruto looked over at Itachi and smiled. He knew that the man had fallen asleep and was tempted to just abandon his work in order to watch the smooth rise and fall of his chest. He was interrupted (Naruto cursed his luck) by a knock on the door. Itachi instantly transformed and flew to the back of Naruto's chair as he leant forwards, placing his chin on linked hands. The door opened to reveal Kakashi and Yamato side by side smiling.

"Hey Naruto, I don't know if Tsunade left a note or something but we're here to discuss the mission we went on recently. She scheduled a meeting for today and we weren't sure if it was still on."

Naruto raised an eyebrow and shrugged his shoulders.

"Might as well continue with the meeting, it couldn't hurt the situation and we may find benefits from it too."

The raven let out a low caw and Naruto's hand crept up to sooth the bird automatically.

"I'll start then shall I? Well we're mainly here to talk about the Akatsuki's next movements and what course of action should be taken really… well our views on the subject."

Naruto nodded and the two men seated themselves. Kakashi nodded to Yamato and the ANBU member spoke first,

"Well Tobi's an odd opponent… all of your attacks passed through him but we couldn't think of any Jutsu that would enable that."

Naruto shook his head in agreement, biting his lip to stop from correcting their naming of the man. It would be a hard discussion yet one that he needed to wade through in order to be a true Hokage. He wondered how many times the Sandaime – or even the Yondaime – or Tsunade had had to lie through their teeth just because something was over everyone else's heads.

"We don't think he's all that important to the Akatsuki though," here the raven tightened his grip on Naruto's shoulder and Naruto fought the urge to laugh, "but we should be wary of him nonetheless. He is the reason that they got to Sasuke before us."

Naruto nodded; glad they had got one thing right at least.

"What do you think about him Naruto?"

For the sake of plans Naruto had to agree.

"From everything I've heard about him he seems like an underling… he was let into the Akatsuki late after Sasori was terminated. As you said he doesn't seem to be that important really."

The men nodded and Kakashi spoke,

"What will we do about Sasuke?"

Naruto looked down and the raven hopped onto the desk. The blond knew that the men before him were watching the bird in distrust yet Naruto stroked the bird's feathers to prove he was no threat.

"Leave him for now. Even if we knew where he was we wouldn't be strong enough to take him on just yet; I've only been Hokage for a day," Naruto only just remembered that it had to seem like a day, "so it'll take some adjustments. We need to wait it out a little longer and I'll send word to the Kazekage… Suna don't know that I'm Hokage yet and I wish to strengthen the bond between the Fire and Wind countries before anything else really."

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his eye,

"How did Jiraiya ever manage to get you so sharp and off the ball in two and a half years? I almost envy his talent."

Naruto chuckled half heartedly; Tsunade was out there with an almost dead Jiraiya and he was here laughing. It hurt to do so yet it was just another secret burden that he had to carry, hoping with all his might that the pair of Sannin would return safely.

"We can't move against Akatsuki either, we have to wait for Jiraiya's information before we can make the next move."

The men raised their eyebrows at that but neither questioned. If the Hokage wasn't going to detail exactly what information it was, they weren't the ones to ask.

They continued talking amiably between themselves until Naruto glanced outside. It was getting dark and he wanted to be home before Kiba dropped by; he really wasn't in the mood for alcohol with everything that was going on. Kakashi and Yamato left in good spirits, the main result of the meeting was that they would just wait. Naruto hadn't dared hint anything else.

"Come on Itachi, let's go."

They reached the house and Naruto sighed – half in relief and half desperation. He was now alone, without distraction, with Itachi. Itachi smiled softly as he passed Naruto his dinner – cup ramen, not the healthiest choices but neither really cared at this point in time – and Naruto groaned.

Ninety nine point nine per cent sure.

 **Fox**

 **a cunning or crafty person**

 **ずるさ**

There had been a time when the world had been little but a play toy beneath his paws. It had been a fresh world, a new world, and one that the Bijuu had ruled over. The Kyuubi no Kitsune didn't remember many of the events that had taken place, but he did remember being seated in the grand halls of the Central Palace, eight companions by his side.

It was true that the Kyuubi was a huge mass of chakra contained to a body but wasn't that true to say of all creatures? They had watched the clans of Shinobi fight amongst themselves, waiting for their time. The Kyuubi had laughed along with the other Bijuu when they had placed bets (the Kyuubi had always won) and anger had grown when the first of the nine left the safety of the halls.

It had been that Bijuu that had indirectly caused the safe hold to be breached. Once the two men had contained the power of one, it had led to the remaining eight and the Kyuubi hadn't been one of the ones to escape.

The Kyuubi, to this day, still wasn't sure why one of the nine had escaped the safety of their hold, the rules laid upon them from the Beginning had stated that they could only watch and would be offered protection. If one split, they all split and their power was fractured, each Bijuu given one power rather than all of them sharing them all. Even so, there was harmony among them and they could, upon being pushed, share the given powers. They were still whole yet the Clans were the ones to make sure this changed.

Hashirama and Madara… Uchiha and Senjuu; two damned clans who couldn't just let be. The Kyuubi had been entranced by Madara's eyes and Hashirama's wooden abilities to the point of enslavement but the fox learnt more amongst their company than the time at the Central Palace.

There had been a few others and the time spent hadn't been that bad. Things had only turned when Hashirama – the Hokage at this point – had decided to give the chakra of the Bijuu to neighbouring countries in the hopes that they would see it as a peace offering. Never before had the Bijuu been purposefully split apart from each other, nine harmonious chakras scattered to various countries and never to be reunited.

The destructive force was first put into play then; if the chakras were to reunite they would mix to form something deadly and potent. They had been harmonious yet the separation would lead to each being slightly tainted and a re-introduction would end in a devastating force… it was a small hope but even the Kyuubi hoped that he would never see the other eight Bijuu.

When Uchiha Madara had first approached the Kyuubi – before he had left Konoha – he had promised freedom to the fox. The nine tailed Bijuu had tired of his solitary life and the cage he had been restricted to (if he was brought out from the Summoning realm that the men had banished them to) and so welcomed the man and entertained his thoughts.

These thoughts had ended in the destruction of Konoha and the Kyuubi had been forced to disagree. Madara had been counting on the demon's approval and sought to control the very basics of what made the fox living; his chakra. The Kyuubi had been brought to its knees as Madara enacted his Mangekyou Sharingan upon him and the chakra spiked from a dark yellow to crimson red, changing and becoming hypersensitive to the Uchiha chakra. Madara had called it captivity and the fox had been left alone to literally lick his wounds.

Kyuubi was waiting the next time he was summoned in secret by Madara. Instincts told him it had only been a week – at the most – since the Uchiha had turned his chakra but it felt like an eternity to the fox. He had been waiting to meet the human so he could literally rip his head off for what he had done to him but something else happened that night.

Uchiha Madara had returned to Konoha that night in the hopes of destroying the village. The Kyuubi felt the chakra well up and burn through his body as Madara stood on his head, eyes flickering with the stolen eyes of his brother.

"We shall go now Kyuubi. Destroy every last relic of this village."

The Kyuubi knew it was a classic case of 'if I can't have it then nobody can' but his mind had been too weak to stave off the urge brought upon by the chakra change. He had destroyed as much as he could – trees, buildings, people even – until the Shodai had turned up. The Mokuton ability had calmed the Kyuubi's chakra and Madara had scarpered, leaving the fox standing in the centre of a partially crushed village.

There had been silence in the Kyuubi's cage for years, too many years to sleep but too little to wither away and die. The chakra lost its edge and softened to a deep orange colour yet the mind of the Kyuubi never dulled. If anything the blade of hatred grew, disturbing the balance of the chakra for good. The fox didn't care – hardly noticed – his mind set on one thing; destroy Uchiha Madara.

The Kyuubi had opened his eyes to a blinding light. The first person he noticed was a masked man and he knew, without a doubt, that this was the source of his re-entry to the Shinobi world and that he was the very target he sought.

The Kyuubi's chakra darted towards the man but he vanished; a replacement or a Bunshin taking the place of the man who would've died. Upon finding no living human around, Kyuubi had taken off to the one place Madara would have been; Konoha.

He had been there too, standing on the Yondaime's head with a smirk beneath his mask as the Yondaime had stood atop Gamabunta and performed the Jutsu that would end in the final sealing of the Kyuubi. The Kyuubi may not have been near to Konoha but he had seen that and the Shinobi gathered around the fox had never seen anything give off as much hatred as the Kyuubi had the second before it was sealed into the child. They all assumed it was directed to the Yondaime and Namikaze Minato's words were forgotten as they remembered their 'hero' was capable of such hate.

The Kyuubi had returned to sleep then, resting his giant head on the wet floor of his new prison. His eyes had grown heavy and the beast had succumbed to sleep… at least until he woke with an anguished rage. Memories swirled in his head and one name repeated over and over;

MadaraMadaraMadaraMadara

The Kyuubi allowed the child access to his powers and relinquished the feeling of control on the boy. With a slight dip of his furred body, he was able to send the boy's own spinning into a kick and he loved it. He could feel the hum of emotions overwhelming his Jinchuuriki – how off it was to call the person holding him back from revenge his human sacrifice – and knew that he was scared, frightened and yet would do anything to avenge the supposed death of his friend, one who was lying on the ground with senbon sticking out of him.

Unfortunately the next time the boy had used his powers they had been sealed away and the Kyuubi's chakra had been thrown into disarray. In all honesty he did really feel gratitude to the boy's mentor – Jiraiya – especially as the kid then used his chakra after the Toad Sennin had thought to unseal it.

The harmony had been affected once again when Shukaku had arrived on the scene; the Kyuubi had been unable to control his own chakra and it had literally flamed around Naruto when he asked for it. Not even the fox had been able to control it and he felt a little respect towards the kid as he fought it back to the seal. From there on, it had been Kyuubi's job to absorb the chakra or risk it destroying him from inside the sealed cage.

There had never been more fire running through the chakra since that time than when the Kyuubi was allowed to access Naruto's body. It had occurred to him a handful of times yet only twice was he given full control over the situation. The first time he repaid a debt to the Sannin in the only way he deemed acceptable – half killing the man. The second time it had been his former companion, the snake man that Naruto had so loathed, that had duelled with the beast and he would've died if the Kyuubi had been given a true chance. The fox knew that the man had once been in the same league as Madara and it reminded the fox of everything he had done; how he had been used.

The most interesting encounter had been the one with Uchiha Sasuke. The Kyuubi knew he was nothing compared to Madara (or even the other Uchiha, upon whom he's only known of through the Jinchuuriki and Naruto's fear was something to go by) but the boy was able to see him and that was what mattered. It had been partially to do with the chakra reacting to the Sharingan (from Madara's 'gift') and the power of the boy himself.

The warning had partially been a bluff; if Naruto died then so did the Kyuubi and the Kyuubi wouldn't allow that just yet. He wanted Madara six feet down, chopped and wrapped for hell. Sasuke accepted the bluff and the Kyuubi carried on the plotting.

It was also for his own gain that he had helped to save Uchiha Itachi. The Kyuubi had held back the chakra that instinctively seeped out to help the man (another effect that Madara's change had; if there was a wounded Uchiha, to the point of almost death, touching the Kyuubi or the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki then he would be forced to heal every wound) then allowed it once Naruto's emotions had washed over him. This Uchiha was a keeper; he did everything for Konoha and even knew Madara… even fought off the taint that Madara brought along with him.

This was why the Kyuubi was silent in his seal as Naruto slept that night, blissfully unaware of what the fox was planning. It wouldn't be long before everything could begin and the Kyuubi could finally drench himself in the stench of Madara's blood.

Even if he had to wait it out in this stinking cage with the sewer water climbing steadily upwards by each day the fox would be patient. There was too much to lose and so much to gain…

Even to the point of risking everything and counting on people he had never met. The Kyuubi hoped Naruto moved fast because there was something approaching and not even the fox knew if it was a blessing or a curse.

 **ずるさ**

Naruto rubbed his eyes and looked down at the sheet of paper. Itachi had abandoned him for the day, saying that he was going to check a source of his. Naruto had retorted that technically a dead man shouldn't have sources but the Uchiha had looked at Naruto in a way that made the man uncomfortable (well, more specifically, hoicked the percentage up a little to ninety nine point nine-one-three) and he dropped it instantly.

This left the Hokage alone in his office with the paperwork previous Hokages had fought off with ink and curses. For someone who had never enjoyed school work, Naruto strangely enjoyed this type of work; filling in boxes and snooping in other peoples' reports sometimes proved very amusing.

Today, however, was not a day Naruto wanted to be doing work. He only had a few mission reports to sign but it was what was happening later that set him on edge; Shizune had come in with morning tea to inform Naruto that Danzou had requested an emergency meeting with him later that day.

Ideally Naruto would have wanted Itachi to be there for the first meeting with the ROOT ANBU Captain but beggars can't be choosers and it was just going to be the Hokage and Danzou. Not everyone's cup of tea.

Naruto scanned through the A- and S-classed reports first to see if there were any leads of what Sasuke or Akatsuki were up to. Itachi had mentioned the possibility of Madara getting Sasuke and if this was true Naruto wondered what Madara would do next. Would Sasuke become part of the Akatsuki? If so, would they come after him still? No one outside of Konoha knew that Naruto was the Hokage yet as the messengers to Suna probably hadn't reached them yet but if the Akatsuki got wind that he was in charge of the village before they were ready to deal their own then a lot of problems could occur.

Not that they didn't have enough problems on their hands already…

Naruto's mind wandered back to Danzou. He had never met the man properly in person; Tsunade had shown him a picture and he had walked past the man once when he had been leaving the Hokage office but the Uzumaki hadn't really paid any attention to the war veteran. The blond only hoped that the man would be easy to evaluate as he had such little information on him.

"Hokage-sama?"

Naruto looked up and smiled at Shizune. She swapped the empty tray on his desk for the one in her hands and smiled in return. The tea tasted like heaven to Naruto and he sighed contentedly, gesturing for Shizune to join him. She did so and took a cup of her own.

"Do you miss Tsunade?"

Shizune blew on the hot liquid and waited for Naruto's answer.

"I have been a bit busy to really notice her absence, if I'm honest, but I do miss her. Baa-chan was always there for me to bother or just talk to but I know she'll be back. With Jiraiya," he added in afterthought. Naruto looked questioningly to Shizune and she swallowed the mouthful.

"It feels strange to be absent from her side… I've been with her ever since she left Konoha. I guess I reminded her of my uncle and she wanted to honour him by taking me upon as her apprentice."

Naruto tilted his head,

"Your uncle?"

"Dan," she said simply and Naruto nodded. It was little details such as the revelation of the true connection between Shizune and Tsunade that added to everyday life. Naruto briefly wondered if Shizune hadn't been Dan's niece, would Tsunade have taken her as an apprentice?

"I better get on with organising the files as they come in; Suna should be contacting us shortly as the team we sent out should get there soon. Iruka requested your presence at the mission's room later on today, shall I tell him you'll be there after Danzou has finished?"

Naruto's day brightened at the prospect of torturing Genin with D-ranked missions as well as seeing Iruka.

"Yeah, hopefully we won't be too long. Tell him I'll be along when I've finished up."

Shizune smiled and left quietly. Naruto's eyes fell to the paper again and he read over the first line,

'Mission class: B, Mission brief: escort a wealthy businessman to one of the outer towns in…'

No Akatsuki there. Were they doing something so secretive that nothing even trickled out? At times like this he knew Tsunade would have had Jiraiya to ask but even that resource was gone (only temporarily, his mid supplied) and so was Tsunade. Even his trump card was out in whoever knows where with whoever knows who – Naruto ignored the jealousy stirring up as he thought of Itachi with Mr/Miss Whatsitname – and he was here, waiting for Danzou.

A knock on the door interrupted Naruto's cursing and blue eyes snapped to the wooden frame as it swung open. Shizune was carrying another tray and Naruto stood to do the swap quickly as he saw Danzou walk in slowly.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted and Naruto gestured for his guest to sit. He skilfully poured the tea – in a way that would make Jiraiya proud – and handed a cup to Danzou. The man accepted and nodded his head in appreciation.

"Danzou-san, is there anything that need to be urgently addressed?"

The man set down his tea and opened his uncovered eye.

"Of course, Hokage-sama, this isn't just a social."

Danzou 1, Naruto 0.

"I wish to talk to you about my division, ROOT, and its future. As you're aware, the organisation acts directly from me without any interference from the Hokage… I was hoping that you would extend my powers to that of ANBU."

Naruto blinked at the sheer courage this man had. It was rather insulting; straight forwardly asking if he could take over the strongest of the Konoha Shinobi. Naruto knew that Danzou didn't see him as a threat and vowed that this opinion would change soon. In Danzou's eyes, Naruto was still just an idiotic Shinobi, one who had got this place through being close friends with the Godaime Hokage. To him, Naruto had got this position simply through his birth parents and friendship, that most certainly did not deem him worthy to protect the whole village.

"If I agreed with your policies then I would hand ANBU over to you in the blink of an eye, but seeing as I learnt the hard way about what you do to your subordinates I'd rather keep my ANBU away from you."

Danzou 1, Naruto 1.

The man in front of the Hokage twitched slightly and took up his tea once more. Naruto waited patiently for the man, sipping his own beverage.

"May I be allowed to go see your new recruits and offer placements?"

Naruto set down his cup and shook his head.

"I haven't seen them myself yet and I'd rather that I was their main influence rather than you."

Another point to Naruto,

"I also wanted to visit the ROOT members to check their progress. I know the previous Hokages let you a free rein but I was hoping to work with you. I'm sure you were aware that Tsunade had ANBU tailing you and I think it would be far more beneficial if we were open about this agreement. Who knows, maybe we'll be able to combat all targets with even more efficiency through working together."

Danzou 1, Naruto 3. Maybe he didn't need Itachi…

"With all due respect, Hokage-sama, I was told that I would be given full control of ROOT and I believe that if you interfere then this condition will be breached."

Okay so maybe Itachi's help would have been nice.

"Nevertheless, I would like to meet these Shinobi; I am the Hokage and they are still citizens of Konoha. Just take this as a warning; if I find any of them in as bad a state as Sai was then I will pull them from ROOT and you will have nothing to do with them."

Danzou nodded, his face pinched and a dissatisfied look in his eyes. Naruto wondered if he had forgotten Naruto's personal involvement with ROOT.

"I will allow that as there is no other choice. Though may I be so bold as to ask a question?"

Naruto resisted the urge to growl; the man was asking now if he could be bold!

"Of course," he gestured for the man to continue.

"It would appear that you are getting ready for some sort of fight… is there something we should know?"

He was a sneaky one, this Danzou. To the point but blunt enough so that Naruto couldn't charge him with something like treason.

"Tsunade activated the terms of war when she left so it is natural that I continue as though we are under a threat. Akatsuki are still around and-"

"If Akatsuki are still around then is it safe for you to be in control of a whole village?"

Naruto's eyes darkened as the man interrupted him. Danzou knew very well why he was starting to take the offence and was now taunting him in no man's land.

"I would say it is even safer. Konoha treated me with little respect but even so I was still able to love the village. That takes something, don't you think? I love this village with my heart, even during the times when it hated me. I would never use Konoha as a stepping stone for my own gain and I believe that my love for Konoha will allow her to grow."

Danzou flinched at the implication Naruto made and he gritted his jaw.

"What will happen in the event that Akatsuki does get to you?"

Naruto smirked, prepared to finally admit the extent of his knowledge to someone who had thought very little of him.

"You make me sound as though I am just warming this seat up. I may be young but there is no doubt that I can hold more than my own in a fight. I wasn't just chosen because of who my father was; Tsunade was informed of my training from Jiraiya-sensei. She then based her choice upon that, I had no influence… in fact I was out on a mission trying to get your precious Uchiha back."

Naruto closed his eyes; two out of the three Oni knew about Itachi…

"And I have to add that I did return one to Konoha… not the one you wanted though."

Danzou's eye widened and he took a sharp intake of air,

"Uchiha Itachi? He died!"

Naruto shrugged the comment off before rolling his eyes as a raven swooped in through the open window. He knew Itachi had been there for a short time but, of course, the Uchiha had chosen the perfect time to make his entrance.

"I assure you Danzou that I am one hundred per cent alive. Naruto-sama was the one to heal me after he learnt the true details of that night."

Naruto was sure that – had Danzou been any less of a man – he would've fainted. His face paled and he stood up from his chair, the legs scraping against the floor noisily. After all, it wasn't every day that the man you practically sentenced to death came back after you had thought that the sentence had finally been carried out. Danzou had everything to fear in Itachi – he was ruthless, beautifully so, and there were plenty of reasons to do it. Naruto knew that Itachi wouldn't do something like that but Danzou… Danzou had no idea.

"I will contact you to arrange a date that I will visit your organisation. If there is nothing else then you are free to go."

Danzou left quickly, leaving the door wide open to reveal Shizune looking into the room. She blinked before hurrying into the room and collecting the tea.

"Would you like some Itachi-san?"

Itachi shook his head and Naruto chuckled at Shizune's expression. Itachi noticed her face as well and hurried to correct his error;

"Coffee or something would be very much appreciated though."

A smile broke through the glare and Shizune left happily. It seemed that if anyone rejected her offer of a drink, she became your worst nightmare.

"What was the score at the end then?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow to the cloaked man.

"Seriously, can you read minds?"

Itachi gave a dry laugh and shook his head. His eyes sparkled as they connected with Naruto's and the Hokage felt a jolt of something pass through his body.

"If only. It just seems a very Naruto thing to do."

Naruto looked at the man and smiled. Itachi smiled back and Naruto's heart literally skipped a beat (okay so it was more like ninety nine point nine-nine-nine now). This feeling, he guessed, wouldn't be one to go away any time soon so he might as well embrace it, even if just for a little.

"It would appear that my source is currently entertaining our previous Hokage."

Naruto blinked, confused slightly. He had thought that Tsunade would be heading straight to Jiraiya and, besides, when did Itachi have time to meet someone who would willingly entertain the Godaime Hokage? As far as he knew, which was pretty far considering, the Akatsuki hated Konoha (hated everywhere really, if you take it into true account) and he loathed to think how the Uchiha had managed to get the Akatsuki off of his back long enough for the unsociability to reside and actually make this entertaining source a… well, source.

"Tsunade? But isn't she with Jiraiya?"

Itachi nodded and paused as Shizune entered the room once more with coffee and tea. She set them down and Itachi took the hot mug and took a sip instantly. Naruto frowned; were Uchiha's heatproof or something? If he had tried that, there was no doubt that his lip would have been scalding hot and red. Not a very Hokage-like thing to do really.

"My friend seems to have taken Jiraiya into her care and I was able to contact her long enough to know that 'Tobi' hasn't been around Akatsuki that much recently. I think it's safe to say that he either has Sasuke or is hunting for him…we should only to contact her if there is no other alternative; her partner is Pein and he is not someone to take lightly, he's the reason Jiraiya-sama is in the condition he is now."

Naruto's eyes widened but he recovered quickly; Jiraiya was in Tsunade's hands now and he knew from experience that Tsunade was literally a miracle worker. She had lost too many people as well, so if she lost Jiraiya it would be too much to bear. Surely that was enough to give her the strength to fight whatever injuries threatened to overwhelm her friend, her team member and the man she had known for so long.

"So why exactly do you want to look over ROOT?"

Naruto swallowed tentatively and looked into dark eyes. There was curiosity, an almost foreboding curiosity, in Itachi's eyes and it both thrilled and scared Naruto. There were so many things about ROOT that he knew would throw him into the deep end but he couldn't leave the people in the organisation there. No matter what path they were on, they were still loyal Konoha Shinobi.

"In the past, Danzou has been tracked by the Hokage's trusted ANBU and I wanted to try a different approach. I changed Sai and I was hoping that we could get a few more people to switch. I know they joined ROOT either of their own choice or grew up in it but I hate to think that they feel there is no other option."

Itachi nodded and remembered a time when he had been in the ANBU headquarters and one member commented on how creepy the daughter organisation was. Itachi hadn't really contributed but he had listened and it was enough;

"I remember someone saying it was like a cult. The members were close, a family on the outside, but they would sooner stab you in the back if it guaranteed them power."

Naruto looked at Itachi and the man pulled his hood up, covering his face. Naruto frowned but sighed as he looked down at the reports; if Itachi wanted to be reclusive then he wouldn't stop him. Taking a trip down memory lane could be peaceful sometimes but it wasn't always the safest way to travel.

"I'll arrange a meeting with Sai. He came from ROOT so maybe he can help us."

Itachi nodded and Naruto called Shizune in.

"Can we call Sai in here for tomorrow?"

Shizune nodded and looked at Naruto pointedly. He hummed in response and the woman disappeared.

"I have to go join Iruka-sensei in the mission's room now so I'll see you later?"

Itachi turned to him and the hood fell back slightly, revealing dark eyes and long lashes. Naruto's breathing suddenly felt shallow and his head almost span. Blue eyes roamed unabashedly over the man's features and he stepped forwards. There was over ten centimetres difference in height but that could be solved by tiptoeing and resting an arm on Itachi's for support.

Naruto closed his eyes and allowed his lips to touch Itachi's cheek. The skin was cold and smooth – just as he'd expected – and he fought the urge to just stay there like that. A heat emitted from his cheeks and, as he lowered his body back to the ground, he kept his eyes fixed to the ground.

"I'm just returning the favour from the other night," he muttered lightly and turned. Itachi watched as Naruto waved a hand and shut the door.

It was a good twenty minutes before Itachi returned to reality and he touched his cheek gently.

He absently noted that the skin had grown warm and remembered the coffee that lay waiting for him. He knew it would be cold but it seemed like a fair trade for the skin over his cheek.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chances**

 **the absence of any cause of events that can be predicted, understood, or controlled**

 **機会**

Naruto was greeted warmly as he stepped into the mission's room. Iruka stood up and literally ran across the room to stand before the teen. Naruto hugged the brunette and the man laughed,

"Doesn't matter if you're Hokage or a Genin, you'll still come back to me for ramen right?"

Naruto chuckled and answered with the affirmative. Iruka guided the Hokage back to his chair and they began a formal conversation, Iruka questioning Naruto upon his duties and how he was coping.

"Who are we to be expecting?"

Iruka looked down at a list at the missions that had been pre-arranged. Tsunade operated on specific systems; the pre-arranged missions and the emergency missions. The pre-arranged missions mainly consisted of D to low ranking B missions as A-S were reserved for the ANBU mission reports or Jounin specifically, and were sorted to the teams on the day. It was because of this that all mission reports needed to be handed in on correct time or else the log of who was on duty and who wasn't screwed up, a lot.

The emergency missions were there for any who needed a mission for various reasons or urgent missions that required full attention. There was only one mission that was a D in this category and that was only because of the importance of the client. Tora, it seemed, got top priority because he belonged to the Daimyo's wife… not a bad life really.

"Well we have Konohamaru's team coming in today… apparently Ebisu recommended them for their first C rank. I'll let you decide what one to give them. Shikamaru should be along later to inform us of the Sand's reply; as you know he keeps in correspondence with Sabaku no Temari ever since they were paired together as ambassadors. Other than that there are just the everyday nins who need missions."

Naruto nodded and clicked his knuckles; it would be good to see Konohamaru after such a long time. In fact he couldn't remember the last time he had seen the kid; maybe when he showed Naruto his new variation of the Orioke no Jutsu.

"I heard about Sakura."

Naruto didn't look into Iruka's eyes; if the Chuunin knew about Sakura then he was sure to know about the name he had given the Itachi-raven. Anything would be better than Iruka's disapproval; it was probably one of the only things that Naruto would never be able to stand. Having the man who had looked after him for the past few years, protecting him when Mizuki had drawn his weapons, had been one of the most treasured connections in his whole life. If this was to be severed then Naruto would fight tooth and nail to get it back.

"She also told me about your bird."

Naruto scratched his cheek and sniffed.

"I don't quite understand why you named it after him of all people but I won't judge you because of it. Uchiha Itachi was a Shinobi of fantastic quality and it is true that he used those birds for his techniques. I guess it would be as if you had a pet fox and called it Kyuubi."

Naruto finally looked up into his former Sensei's eyes and broke into a smile; Iruka always understood.

"I know you must be going through a hard time as well, what with Sasuke still being missing and you becoming Hokage but you'll be able to get through it. Just keep your chin up and remember that lots of people will always be there for you."

Naruto nodded, half agreeing with what Iruka was saying. In all honesty he hadn't really thought about Sasuke being 'missing'… as Itachi had said, the probability of Madara having found him was extremely high so they could count that penny down. It was more of a worry that he wouldn't be able to defend Konoha both inside and out. What he was doing at the moment was getting ready for the major event that would take place; there would be a war of some sort, that much was evident, but whether this was would involve anyone other than the Oni, Naruto, Itachi, Jiraiya, Tsunade and the Akatsuki, the Hokage couldn't say.

Naruto was about to speak when the door clanged open loudly and Ebisu stammered an apology whilst shouting at Konohamaru, a feat Naruto had to commend the man on.

"Ebisu-san, how nice to see you!"

Ebisu smiled at Naruto and accepted the blond man's hand. For all their past troubles, the two had become friends over the years and Ebisu was glad to see Naruto upon the helm of the village. He would trust no other Kage as he would trust Naruto; granted he would lay down his life for any Kage, but it would be for Naruto that he'd survive countless blows just to gain the safety of Naruto. Even if he was on his last heartbeat, Ebisu would be there for Naruto; never again would the name Demon rise to Ebisu's brain when Naruto was connected, he felt ashamed for even thinking it before.

"I hope you have a mission to stop these tearaways from destroying your village, Konohamaru has become impossible ever since you were announced as Rokudaime."

Naruto chuckled loudly and looked at the Genin.

"Only a few more years Konohamaru! Plus with me being Hokage you get extra points."

Konohamaru broke into a grin suddenly and launched his body towards the blond. Naruto was pushed backwards as the twelve year old knocked them both off of the chair Naruto had been sitting on.

"Naruto-nii-chan, you should've told us you were Hokage! I could've fought you for it then."

Naruto chuckled again and ruffled the brown hair of the boy on top of him.

"Get off me now or you'll be stuck retrieving Tora until you're Jounin."

Konohamaru leapt off of the older boy at once and stood straight, salute and all. Naruto smiled and took the list Iruka handed to him. A huge 'C' was printed on the top of the scroll and Naruto ran a finger down the list until he found a suitable mission. He made a mental note to thank Shizune for this one…

"Your mission is to travel to a nearby shipping town and collect the goods that Teuchi-san of Ichiraku Ramen ordered some weeks ago."

Konohamaru gaped incredulously at the Hokage,

"This is a joke."

Ebisu slapped a hand over Konohamaru's mouth and laughed nervously at the mission giving pair.

"We accept, Hokage-sama, thank you very much for your time."

He walked from the room, pulling a reluctant Konohamaru behind him. Udon and Moegi waved to Naruto and Iruka before walking off to follow the other members of their team.

"That went surprisingly well," Iruka commented and Naruto chuckled.

"I think the only reason it was placed under a 'C' is because of Ichiraku's best customer. Being Hokage gets you things you know!"

Iruka chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair. It didn't matter how old the man became, to Iruka he would always be the failing academy student who didn't give a shit what anyone else thought. It took a lot of guts to live through the kind of life Naruto had and the blond had come out shining.

"Hokage-sama," a voice drawled from the open door and Naruto smiled at Shikamaru's laziness.

"You should know more than anyone that I really prefer to be called Naruto. Has the Kazekage sent a reply already?"

Shikamaru's hand slid from the door frame and into his pocket. His shoulders hunched over as he shuffled forwards to the desk and he perched on the edge, facing Naruto and Iruka.

"He says that he's coming to get you."

Naruto frowned, unsure whether Shikamaru was making a joke or not. He opened his mouth but Shikamaru interrupted with a sigh.

"He says that he should've been there for your ceremony but congratulates you nonetheless. Gaara also says that he wishes to visit us soon… within the next couple of weeks. He waits for your reply."

Shikamaru nodded his head and was about to leave when Naruto spoke,

"Thanks, Shika, how is everyone holding up?" By everyone Naruto meant Kurenai.

"She's not doing too badly; she was finally discharged from hospital. I don't know if you heard but the stress she has been under recently made Tsunade-sama worry that she would deliver prematurely. Luckily enough the little blob still has a few weeks left and is clinging on… I bet it'll be late."

Naruto nodded with a slight smile.

"Does she know the sex of the baby?"

Shikamaru shook his head, "No but she says that the can feel it's a boy, whatever that means. She wants to name it Asuma if it's a boy but she said she hasn't really thought about names if it's a girl… one hundred per cent convinced it's a boy."

Naruto bobbed his head before speaking, "If you need any time off or anything… I know Kurenai would appreciate your help."

Shikamaru nodded and thanked the Hokage. Naruto understood that the Chuunin wanted to help ease Kurenai's pain as much as he could; it wouldn't just help the woman but Shikamaru himself. It would be slow but Naruto would make sure that everyone was able to knit their lives back together and hardly any rips would be made in the fabric of Konoha's structure – both social and power.

"That was very well handled," Iruka said after Shikamaru had left, "It's hard to believe you were the slacker four years ago… things change quickly don't they?"

Naruto chuckled and couldn't help but agree. The last few weeks had been extremely life changing and the young Hokage had taken upon feats that half of the Shinobi in the village would never have stood for; second chances.

 **機会**

A hand fell from the Akatsuki cloak and Tsunade slipped in the doorway after the woman. The wrinkles had almost fully receded and Tsunade now had an extra storage of chakra. The woman nodded to the legendary healer and they walked down a corridor in silence.

There were no lights; nothing to suggest that anyone really lived in this huge metallic apartment structure but Tsunade could guess that this was where the Akatsuki ran things. She had been slightly unnerved to see a huge face leering at her, tongue lolling from its mouth as if it were some animal.

Maybe they all are… after all, humans are just a type of animal and Shinobi are just a type of human.

They entered a metal door and Tsunade forced her body to remain still as she saw the man on the bed.

"He has been doing well; I managed to heal a little of the damage but it was too extensive. He drifts between consciousness often and thanks me as much as he can when he is awake. His throat was destroyed almost completely in battle and he lost the use of his voice… if I hadn't been able to contact you then I fear that there would be no hope… I believe he is also suffering from internal damage but I haven't that much experience in medial ninjutsu…" Konan dropped her voice, "That was always Yahiko's job."

Tsunade didn't want to intrude so she didn't ask about this Yahiko; instead she asked if she could give her own team member a look over. The blue haired woman nodded and stepped aside for the former Hokage.

Tsunade gathered he chakra and ran her hands over Jiraiya, looking for any internal wounds. What she found shocked her; almost all of Jiraiya's organs had damage of some sort and the heart even showed signs of tremendous strain. Tsunade knew that not even her extra chakra could heal every wound the Sannin had received but she could damn well try.

"Why did you save him? If I had known that there was one sympathetic person in the Akatsuki…"

The blue haired woman looked straight into Tsunade's eyes as she spoke.

"Jiraiya stumbled across my friends and I a while ago… he became our Sensei but left. Other details aren't exactly necessary and I hope you'll agree that this should be as blunt as possible, the company I keep would not like to see you around here."

Tsunade could tell by the way the woman was speaking that she hated herself. Tsunade recognised the same self-loathing tone as she had taken it up after Nawaki and Dan had died. If it had not been for Shizune and Jiraiya, Tsunade had no idea how miserable her life may have been.

"Konan," she whispered unexpectedly. The woman met her gaze and nodded hesitantly, accepting the question. Tsunade herself hadn't known that much about the trio of orphans Jiraiya had managed to pick up on their travels back from that particular war, but she could recognise the symptoms of loss. However it had occurred, the woman before her had lost the other two, the people who had most likely been the closest to her.

"Whatever happened, there is always someone there."

Konan's gaze wavered and she looked towards the man lying pitifully on the bed.

"There is no one for people like me… we used all of our free chances ages ago; it's time we rotted away."

Tsunade found that, with all her wisdom and experience with patients, she could not reply. Instead the blonde woman turned back to her companion and began to heal the larger injuries. She almost missed the woman's words before she left the room,

"Thank you."

 **機会**

"Say, Naruto, do you have an interest in anyone?"

Naruto turned to Iruka and willed the image of Itachi's face right before he kissed him away.

"Not really… why?"

Iruka raised an eyebrow, "Given up on Sakura then? I thought that you'd pester her until the day you died… you were always all over her."

Naruto bit the inside of his cheek at the slip. If Iruka became suspicious, he was like a bloodhound onto a scent in the way that, until everything had been discovered, there was no way he'd drop it.

"Well you know; we're more close friends now. I don't really see her in any other light now."

Naruto crossed his fingers underneath the desk in a desperate attempt to ward Iruka off of the subject. He really didn't need any more distraction; he was already uncomfortable from the kiss. The emotions that had barraged into Naruto's brain from the kiss threatened to pour out and it was all the Hokage could do to keep a leash on himself.

"It's okay if you like other males you know Naruto."

Naruto's cheeks heated up; could Iruka read minds? He turned to the Chuunin with his mouth slightly agape. At least Iruka had the decency to look uncomfortable.

"I mean… I know you haven't really had time to talk about these things and as you live alone I though… well I'd offer advice. N-Not that you need it! It's just there to reassure you, yeah…" Iruka buried his face in his hands and Naruto shifted in his seat. So that was what Iruka was doing; one of the most embarrassing moments in a parent and child's life, the gender talk. Second to that of the sex talk…

"Thanks, Iruka, but I really don't-"

"No, no, you should know. No one will judge you if you decide you like men, heck it's only natural. Did you hear about the penguins that adopted an egg together? They were both male."

Naruto shook his head; he didn't know – and quite frankly didn't care – what a penguin was he just wanted to avoid this conversation.

"I have to go arrange a meeting with Sai so I'll have to leave you early is that okay?"

Iruka stopped in his 'lecture' and blinked. Naruto stood up, gave the man a quick hug, and bolted out of the door. The Chuunin watched with a slight smile on his face as the black cloak vanished and lay back in his chair; Naruto would find someone some day and that person would be the luckiest person in the world.

 **機会**

Konan stared out of the window and placed a hand out into the rain. She longed for sun and her body cried out for it. You'd think living in these conditions for such a long time would give your body resilience to water… gills or flippers maybe (heck knows it worked for Kisame) but it was not the case for Konan. Her face was pale and – if not for the concealer she smeared under each eye every morning – dark circles would be visible, marking her exhaustion. Only this type of exhaustion would be almost impossible to cure.

She blinked as a caw sounded from her right and frowned; only one person knew that she liked to rest up here and that was Itachi. Konan had always valued peace and this little room, almost at the top of the building, was the perfect place to reflect. Itachi had stumbled across her one day and the pair had exchanged words; they both realised that they wanted more or less the same thing, peace.

True to her thoughts there was a black bird perched upon the sill and she frowned; Itachi was dead, could the birds be relaying his memories? She reached out a hand towards the bird and Konan found that the creature didn't flinch, even when she stroked its back. Instantly her vision faded and an image of Itachi – in a black, hooded cloak – came to her mind.

"This may be dangerous to do so but I need to know if Tsunade got to Jiraiya. I assume it was you who saved him?"

Konan thought her answer and the raven shifted its weight. She knew that Itachi was on the other side of this raven – a mind link – and the Sharingan user would be able to hear every thought as long as she remained in contact with the bird. They had used this system before, only a handful of times, and it never ceased to amaze Konan how talented Itachi really was, and how thorough. Unless you touched the bird – and were the person it was supposed to connect with – it would just look like your average raven.

"Thank you. Keep an eye on Madara for us… he promised me a few things but I wouldn't hold him to them. If he makes any move towards Konoha, send a message or something and get the hell out of there. He won't care how many he sacrifices to obtain his goals and I don't want to lose allies."

Konan nodded her head and lifted a hand to cup the side of her face as she leant against the window ledge.

"You're alive then?"

Silence was her answer yet it had been the answer Konan was expected; Itachi wouldn't needlessly shout out about important things. If Itachi wanted the Akatsuki to believe he was dead then she would keep it that way.

One of the many things Konan had learnt was that Itachi was a peaceful man at heart. She knew he had an ulterior motive for being a part of the Akatsuki, as did she. Hers was for mere companionship; after the destruction of her home at such a young age, Konan had always clung to bonds. Pein, no matter how twisted he had become, was an example of these bonds and Konan loather herself for needing him, needing that bond.

Itachi had told her his own stories of war; remembering the nights that he was sure he would die during. The Secret Wars were anything but secret and it was the children, more than anyone, who suffered. From that point on, Itachi had wanted peace and would have done anything to maintain the stability of Konohagakure.

"Itachi, I doubt I'll see you again."

Konan felt the bird move as Itachi did. She knew he was unsure of what that comment meant, but smart enough to have formed an idea.

"If that is what you have decided then I can do nothing to stop you though I ask you to think carefully about what you do."

Konan nodded her head,

"Tsunade is with Jiraiya. I will keep them in my protection no matter what."

With that, the blue haired woman removed her hand from the bird and it dissolved into the air. With a sigh, Konan looked out of the window once more and turned away. She left the room and almost gasped in surprise as she slammed into someone's chest. A hand pulled at her wrist and jerked her away from the body she had been up against.

"Be prepared to leave on my warning."

The hand dropped her wrist harshly and her arm fell to her side. Konan watched apathetically as Pein walked off, cloak swinging around his legs. The fact that he hadn't asked her represented her life; meaningless and second to everything.

Konan had a plan, though, and she only hoped that she could finish what her teacher started.

 **機会**

The Itachi-raven walked calmly over the table, sharp talons clipping against the wood. Naruto checked through the mission report he had finished signing off and glanced towards the door; Shizune would be back any minute with Sai, as Naruto requested. Not only had the Rokudaime wanted to get it over and done with but he wanted to be busy – in the event that Iruka came around to have a more in depth talk about his relationships… or lack of.

A knock on the door alerted the pair to Sai's arrival and the man himself walked calmly though the door. Unlike any of the other Shinobi Naruto had seen since he had become Hokage, Sai didn't bow, salute or begin spouting honorifics and Naruto respected Sai for that; Naruto was Naruto in the artist's eyes.

"Has your penis grown since you've been in the fancy chair?"

Naruto resisted the urge to growl and forced a chuckle out instead. He had known that Sai wouldn't change but did he really have to still go on about the same damn topic. For someone who was emotionless, anyone would think that the man was permanently horny.

"I called you here for a meeting of sorts… are you free now?"

Sai nodded and took the seat in front of the Hokage's desk. His shoulders were relaxed and a slight smile was formed on his face. Naruto could see why Ino and Sakura had whispered about Sai's good looks; like the Uchihas, you'd be stupid to deny them.

"How long were you a part of the ANBU branch ROOT?"

Sai blinked at the question, obviously expecting something else.

"My parents died when I was younger and I was immediately taken into Danzou's care. He raised me and a few others – including my brother – into what he deemed would be 'invincible weapons'. We would be tested against each other and the winner would receive a small gift, something like a kunai or shuriken, from Danzou… a high honour for us all. The loser would receive a look from Danzou and it would crush you."

Naruto nodded his head slowly and looked at the raven. Itachi-raven was sitting on the desk, beady eyes looking at Sai.

"So he would control you totally?"

Sai made a noise of approval, "He would. It was like he was a strict father and we all had to obey what he said… or else. He never used violence against us but a method that appeared to be supreme to that. The guilt and disappointment would be more than enough to make a seasoned Ne member wither. He knew how we would feel after a beating and that was nothing compared to our 'father's' disappointment."

As the Itachi-raven shifted closer to Naruto, the blond instinctively reached out a hand to stroke the feathers. If he had not been figuring out ways to compete against Danzou, Naruto would have been comparing parts of Itachi-raven's anatomy to the human Itachi, wondering if they matched up. He supposed that, by all biological laws, they should… yet humans didn't have wings.

"Do you think any other members of ROOT could be changed like you were?"

Sai was silent for a moment before he spoke with such clarity that Naruto couldn't help but smile,

"If it were any other person asking me this then I would have said there was no hope for them. As it is you, Naruto, I have to say that almost every one of them could be changed. What do you plan?"

Naruto looked at the raven and Itachi shuffled his feathers in a non committal way. There were certain parallels between the raven form and human form of the Uchiha yet he seemed to be more expressive in the animal form.

"I want to convert as many ROOT members as possible… Danzou approached me with the hope he would be given full control of ANBU. I refused him and I want to take as much power away from his as possible… I don't feel that he can be trusted."

Sai was silent for a few moments and Naruto watched him mull the information over in his brain. Naruto suspected that he was thinking about the man who had overshadowed him for so long as well as matching it to the Danzou Naruto seemed to be battling against. They were the same person yet slightly different. The Danzou to Sai was ruthless – yes – but untouchable. To Naruto, he seemed like a mortal man and Sai had to respect Naruto for even thinking of going up against him.

"What have the advisors said on the matter?"

Naruto felt Itachi stiffen beneath his hand and he smoothed the bird's feathers in an attempt to calm him. He understood the resentment against the elderly pair but did the raven have to be so blunt about it? They had to at least attempt to keep the façade of Itachi being a real bird up, after all.

"I haven't approached them yet but I will make a meeting before I move. I would like it if you were there too… in case any have questions."

Sai nodded and his dark eyes flickered towards the bird. It cocked its head back at him and Sai's eyes lit up a little. It seemed very intelligent, almost too intelligent to be just a bird.

"It would be my honour, Naruto. What's his name?"

Naruto's hand stopped in its ministrations and Sai arched an eyebrow; he may not be all that good at executing human reactions but he knew how to analyse them and he knew now that Naruto was uncomfortable with this subject.

"He's called… Itachi."

Both of Sai's eyebrows rose and he blinked in shock. It was an odd choice of name, especially for Naruto; the elder Uchiha had been chasing him for years now and the Akatsuki had come close to getting what they wanted on more than one occasion. He would have thought that, now with Itachi out of the way so to speak, Naruto would have released the tension the name carried, instead of embracing it.

"I would've thought you'd get a pet weasel if you wanted to name it after him. From what I hear I thought you had a thing for Sasuke but it turns out you're obsessed with Uchiha Senior!"

Naruto blushed crimson and stood up, eyes almost murderous. He could deal with Sai's jibes about his penis, about his sexuality yet it was in front of Itachi, in front of the man he had kissed earlier and he did not need this.

"Shut. Up!"

Sai chuckled and lay back in his chair. It was always amusing to see Naruto freak out over little things and there was a slight inkling in his brain. Before it had been a tease and now, because of Naruto's defensive manner, he began to wonder…

"Why, Hokage-sama?"

Naruto sat back down and grit his jaw, if Sai wanted to be difficult then let the bastard be difficult.

"Where did you get the Sasuke thing from?" Maybe if he changed the subject slightly, Sai would back the hell off away.

Sai shrugged, "Sakura always went on about how you two hated each other and would always fight… I read a book that says people often fight with the ones they are attracted to."

Naruto shook his head and Sai noticed that he hadn't denied his attraction for the elder Uchiha.

"It's a shame he died."

The statement was blunt and Sai bowed to Naruto. He looked at the raven and smiled slightly before turning away. After the door had clicked shut, Itachi resumed his human form and looked at Naruto.

"What was that about?"

Naruto shook his head slowly,

"It's almost as if he…"

"Knew," Itachi finished.

Naruto looked over to the door with a frown on his face; did Sai know or was he just being his usual odd self? There were so many things about Sai that he didn't understand fully but was this just another jibe?

If Sai knew, Naruto wondered what the consequences would be. The man knew how to keep quiet (heck he was silent half of the time anyway) yet if Sai decided to make public the knowledge, things could get extremely hard for them.

It was just another question on top of millions of others and time would only reveal the answers.

 **Sacrifice**

 **the surrender or destruction of something prized or desirable for the sake of something considered as having a higher or more pressing claim**

 **犠牲にする**

Konan remembered times when she had fought to survive, cold nights when she had huddled close to Nagato in an effort to keep warm. The rain had always fallen, even then, and the siblings had almost given into the weeping of the village… until Yahiko had arrived. It had been Yahiko who supplied them with food and a means of defence; Yahiko had given them purpose.

It had been Yahiko who had first led them on this path; he had been the one to address the three Shinobi – the Sannin of Konoha – in search of food. He had called them out and the trio had been given the ultimate luxury; a roof over their heads, if only for a while.

Three victims of a war raging around them… Sand, Grass, Fire and Stone fighting against each other with Amegakure smack bang in the middle. Yahiko wanted to fight violence with violence, until Jiraiya told him what that would bring. Precious people, the Sannin had said, were the most important thing and, at the time, they had all agreed. At that time.

The Rinnegan and the death of the Earth's Chuunin had both shocked the group as well as excited them for it had been that moment that Jiraiya taught them.

Konan stopped her trail of thoughts before she got to the point where Jiraiya left them; if she dwelt too long on that then she would remember Pein's 'birth' and that was something even she shuddered at. It had been the death of both Yahiko and Nagato, Nagato changing from the caterpillar to a butterfly, one that would rather poison you that allow you to see it.

Her hands moved over to the case where the memory butterflies stirred in their holdings, calling out to be remembered. This was the very reason she stored memories; to forget was ignorance and ignorance was bliss… or so they said. She was one who could never allow herself to have bliss and to be ignorant… to be ignorant would be to deny her life and live a lie. There were reasons she had suffered and Konan loathed the day that would bring memory loss.

In truth, Konan was so tired, tired of the civil war, tired of wreaking havoc amongst the nations in order to collect beings of immense power, only to use them to create a devastating weapon. Even she knew that the introduction of the Bijuu's chakra would be almost apocalyptic but, due to the Dragon Sealing Statue, the powers would be chained together and constantly irritate.

Each chakra of one of the tailed beats was like one colour of the rainbow. They worked if they were present – but separate – and that would cause no damage whatsoever. If one were to mix the colours together – like the Akatsuki wished to do with the chakras – it would be a mess. Madara claimed the statue would contain the power but how could one man be so sure? Especially with the potency of the Kyuubi… even Pein would find that demon hard to deal with.

Konan looked over to the figure of the Godaime Hokage slumped on a chair, sleeping. She wondered who was looking after Konoha… or if Konoha was even aware that their Hokage was currently within enemy lines. If anyone in the Akatsuki knew that Tsunade was here then she knew Madara would set off for Konoha, if not in full attack then to at least collect Naruto.

Jiraiya was unconscious; Tsunade had purposefully placed him in an almost comatose state so that his organs would receive the full healing they needed. Tsunade had mentioned that she had never seen anyone as beat up (and alive) since Naruto… and he had the Kyuubi to deal with the healing.

"What time is it?"

"Almost dawn," Konan remembered the time when Pein had spoken almost the same words as she just did though it had been in reference to the Akatsuki name;

It's almost the dawn of a new world…

She shook her head and the paper flower shifted, allowing some hair to spill over her face, just like it had when-

"What will you work on today?"

The blue haired woman knew that the Hokage was tired and the woman looked back at her,

"I don't know anymore… there's so much damage I don't think-"she took a deep breath, "I'll work on his respiratory system. The damage to his throat caused some knock on damage to his lungs… it's a start."

Konan nodded and settle back in her chair. Tsunade coated her hands with green chakra and placed her hands on Jiraiya's bare chest, allowing sharp tendril-spikes to enter the skin. Beads of blood welled upwards as the chakra entered yet Tsunade paid no attention to that; she knew the skin would have to break for her to get inside; there was no quicker way to do it.

"I remember you," Tsunade spoke suddenly and Konan looked up. Although she had spoken her name before, Tsunade had made no indication that she actually remembered how they met.

"You had two others with you… one looked like you and the other… the other was a loudmouth."

Konan's lips thinned and she forced herself to speak,

"One was my brother and the loudmouth… a friend. They're gone now."

Tsunade nodded slowly and chose not to ask anything else on the subject. If gone meant dead or just not with her, it didn't matter; they weren't there and these were times of war. It was a harsh lesson that Tsunade and many others had learnt and yet, for a short moment, she wished that the world didn't ever have to be like that. Which, of course, was preposterous because the world would never just stop for anything.

Instead her attention turned back to the man beneath her and the healing process the chakra was placing him under. If Tsunade didn't heal enough soon then Jiraiya wouldn't stand a single chance.

Tsunade continued to work, sometimes moving her hands away from Jiraiya's and transferring them to his abdomen or legs, healing as much as possible. She was panting by midday and Konan returned – the blonde woman hadn't noticed her leave – with a bag in her hands.

"Is he stable?"

Tsunade nodded and caught on, removing her hands from Jiraiya. As much as she knew that she should continue to heal the man she knew that she wouldn't last long like this; her chakra was fading away and she needed to be at full strength to continue.

The food was eaten in silence and mainly consisted of boosting energy bars, half wilted fruit and a piece of cold salmon that had been found. Tsunade dusted her hands off and returned to work, Konan left to wherever she went.

The paper-user returned to see Tsunade seated on the chair, head in her arms. Konan walked straight up to her, her heart in her mouth, and took her face in her hands. Without provocation the elder spoke,

"His colon… I had no idea that it was twisted and I-it was so obvious! Because of me… some legendary medic I am… I can't… I can't-"

Tsunade broke off into a sob and Konan drew her into a hug; she knew very little about this woman but the man on the bed was their link. The shaking stopped and Tsunade's hands rubbed the tears away from her eyes.

"There isn't enough time. I can't heal so much… It takes so much chakra to mend a twisted gut."

Konan's gaze softened and she questioned,

"Is it idiopathic?"

Tsunade shook her head slightly, beads of saline falling on her legs as the tears continued. If it had been idiopathic then she wouldn't have to cry so much, as it was, it was there for a reason, not just a chance of fate.

"No I can explain fully why it is how it is and that's why I'm a failure… scar tissue, adhesions, have formed and I cannot rectify them…"

Tsunade shook again and a pained cry escaped her mouth,

"He's going to die."

 **犠牲にする**

Naruto watched as Sai sat in the chair and raised an eyebrow. After the previous talk the day before, Naruto needed to know what Sai thought. He would start off nonchalantly questioning and, if needed, there was always one Morino Ibiki to be used…

"What do you think of the bird?"

Sai looked around and shrugged.

"Where is Itachi?"

Naruto closed his eyes; he had called Sai back in the day after he had made the comment about Itachi to inspect Danzou's troops. Itachi had flown off somewhere, saying that he thought it would be best that Naruto 'interrogate' Sai alone.

"He went hunting. What do you think?" Naruto prompted, trying to look nonchalant – and failing miserably.

"He's very nice then."

Naruto snapped suddenly and slammed a hand on the table,

"What the hell did you mean yesterday? Do you know something? Why the hell do you have to get me so angry!" Naruto's remaining words were drowned out as he wailed into his arms. Sai looked on with a slight smile on his lips and spoke in a quiet voice,

"What I know is what you know that I know."

Naruto raised his head, "Seriously? Shut the fuck up."

Sai snorted and complied. Naruto sighed and bit his lip; did he just blurt it out? What if Sai was merely bluffing… then again the man had trained under Danzou…

"You didn't think anyone saw you replace yourself with a Kage Bunshin did you? If I hadn't been about to speak to you then I wouldn't have noticed either… I sent a mouse to spy on you, curiosity gets us all."

Naruto sighed; how much did Sai know? As if reading his mind, Sai continued,

"I made the mouse leave as soon as you offered help… I didn't want to intrude. The fact that we found no body added to my suspicion that you somehow got Itachi and looked after him… you proved it with the bird. I don't know much of the circumstances, merely that you met with Itachi and offered help."

Naruto growled,

"He made me choose that name; he wouldn't respond to anything and Sakura was getting desperate. She really freaked out over him, a fact for which I'm sorry. I never wanted her to experience something like that and she hasn't been in the correct state of mind. Everything's changed so quickly and Sakura needs to adapt to it. I think she'll be back soon though; she'll end up missing me as much as I miss her."

Sai chuckled and Naruto joined in; he couldn't stay mad with Sai for long, no matter how much the man riled him up. In the short time they had known each other, the pair had become close enough to be called good friends and Naruto would trust Sai with his life. Neither acknowledged this relationship out lout but the fact that Sai hadn't told any one of his suspicions and that Naruto had chosen him to accompany on the ROOT inspection spoke miles.

"When Itachi returns then we shall go. I told him to be back within half an hour without fail."

Sai nodded before questioning lightly,

"Was I right in saying that you liked him?"

At Naruto's blush a smug smile crept onto Sai's face. There was all the evidence he needed that Naruto had at least a little crush. Not that there was anything to be ashamed of; from all reports he had heard, Sai knew that Itachi was handsome as well as being a wonderful Shinobi.

"I knew it."

Naruto once again buried his head in his arms and muttered,

"Shut up."

Before Sai could retort, a bird flew through the open window and landed with a clap of its wings. Intelligent eyes looked at Naruto and Naruto nodded.

"He did know but we can trust him."

Nothing more needed to be said and Itachi resumed a human form, cloak covering his face and throwing it into shadowy proportions.

"Shall we set off then? Danzou should be ready by now…"

The pair nodded in agreement and Itachi transformed back into a raven. Sai tilted his head in question as the bird took off out of the window and Naruto explained,

"If people see the Hokage with a mysterious hooded man what will they think? Plus if Itachi went as a bird people may start to piece things together… plus everyone who knew Itachi will associate the birds with him… it's best to avoid things that are too close to the truth."

Sai nodded and hummed in understanding. Naruto really did have the makings of a genius and Sai wondered how they had all missed it; there was so much they had missed of Naruto due to mere assumptions.

"Well then Sai… lead away."

Sai looked at Naruto with surprise in his eyes,

"Why me?"

Naruto chuckled nervously and Sai caught on,

"You don't know where it is," a statement, not a question, proven by Naruto's hesitant nod.

Sai nodded and led the Hokage through a side door in the Hokage tower. It would be easier to get to the base from this angle plus they wouldn't be gawked at by the villagers.

Many people had loosened up about Naruto after he had been announced as Hokage – as a Shinobi Naruto had become extremely popular. Everyone below Naruto's age group respected him via Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi and almost all Shinobi above Naruto's age – well old enough to remember the Kyuubi attack – had finally decided to honour Minato's final wish and truly saw Naruto for what he had become; a hero. Villagers alike often praised the young man, some even debating how well they knew the man after all the D-rank missions he took upon.

Every time the Uzumaki had come against a huge obstacle – such as against Gaara or even Sasuke – the village had waited with bated breaths. The times, numerous times, that Naruto had been in hospital, the staff had informed others on the outside that he was back in, with the assurances that he'd pull through.

When Sasuke had failed to be returned, people had attempted to cheer Naruto up, fearing that their light could darken. Luckily, because of who he was, Naruto hadn't been fazed by it and continued to work harder.

And when he had returned to Konoha with Jiraiya, the word had spread quicker than a fire in a haystack. The village had become much more animated again and people greeted the blond happily; glad to see he was well.

Sai led Naruto through various back alleys and warehouses that were hidden near the base of the Hokage Mountain. They stumbled across a network of unit buildings surrounded with waterways and wooden bridges.

"I thought it would look more… intimidating."

Sai chuckled; that was a very Naruto thing to say.

"Danzou wanted it to seem peaceful… plus he based ROOT on a division from the Kirigakure graduation system so he wanted to incorporate water somehow."

Naruto nodded; the beastly Kirigakure system, he remembered a former Nin of the country and remembered what it had done; turned the man into a so called demon.

"Kisame came from Kirigakure didn't he?"

Itachi stepped out of the shadows and made his way over to the pair. Sai glanced at the man, noting how he stood proudly in the light of the day and with a confidence one could only be born with. It was true to say that Uchiha Itachi was a wonderful specimen of a man.

"Yes, he was teamed with Zabuza… I believe Suigetsu wields that sword now."

Naruto tilted his head,

"Suigetsu?"

Itachi looked at the pair and realised that they hadn't met Sasuke's latest team.

"A former Nin of Kirigakure and one of Sasuke's… associates. He has Zabuza's sword in his control and vows to defeat Kisame. Not even that cleaver can take on Samehada, especially with the… bonding Kisame has with the sword. He uses it as an extension of his arm, much like Zabuza did with his Kubikiri Hocho. I don't think that Suigetsu is there yet, not matter what he says."

Naruto nodded slowly and digested the information. It still struck pain within him to know that Sasuke had so easily assembled another team, especially after saying that he didn't need bonds. No matter what anyone said, team members were bonds and Sasuke was supposed to have severed all bonds.

He also tried to hide the anger he felt that this Suigetsu had the audacity to take Zabuza's sword. It had been on their grave, marking the final resting place of two men who had been caught up in something they should never have been. Naruto had learnt a lot from those two and it hurt to know that someone would simply take something like that.

"Shall we enter then?"

Naruto and Itachi looked at Sai and suddenly a thought came to Naruto's mind,

"Why aren't you attacking Itachi?"

Sai shrugged, "You seem to trust him and given your former status – hunter and prey – so I decided that I do too. Plus if he's been here this long in Konoha and not done any damage or even announced he's alive then I'm willing to bet he's not on a mission to kill, crush and destroy."

Naruto eyed Sai as if he had grown another head.

"You always bring animal references into everything… like when you licked me."

Sai chuckled and patted Naruto on the back. He walked off, leaving Itachi and Naruto to catch up. There was a masked man at the door to the largest building and he stood at attention when he saw a hooded man, the Hokage and Sai.

"Danzou-sama is expecting Hokage-sama and his acquaintance."

The man behind the mask was hesitant in his reply, unsure whether to deny the blunt request or allow them access. He seemed to make his mind up after casting a glance at them and nodded curtly,

"I shall inform Danzou-sama, please make your way to the tea rooms."

The man disappeared and Naruto gave out a low whistle,

"He had tea rooms installed on Konoha's budget?"

Both Sai and Itachi rolled their eyes as they followed the former through various corridors and walkways. They soon came to a decorated room and entered through the sliding door.

The inside was beautiful and Naruto thought it belonged to one of the private relaxation rooms he had stayed in with Jiraiya. The wall screens were painted in light green tones, tipped with pink cherry blossoms. Small, life-like birds darted between brown branches and Naruto had to fight the urge to follow their paths as they appeared to fly around the room.

"Whoever painted this must be a very talented artist," commented Itachi and Naruto's eyes widened as Sai coughed, a slight blush on his face.

"Sai… you?"

Itachi looked at the fellow dark haired man and his eyes softened slightly.

"They are beautiful, you have a brilliant talent. Do you have any other works that I may be able to see? It has been a long time since I saw something of quality."

Sai's blush darkened a little but he nodded. The door slid open once more and Danzou's stern face came into view.

"Hokage-sama, Itachi-san… Sai…" The last name was said with a slight raise in pitch, almost like a question.

"Danzou-san, how are you? I hope you don't mind us just turning up but we're here to take a look at your members."

Danzou looked between the trio before nodding slowly,

"Right this way then, Hokage-sama."

 **犠牲にする**

Konan's world fell as soon as the words escaped Tsunade's mouth; he couldn't die, this was Jiraiya! Tears slipped down her face and Konan was aware that the make-up would run but she didn't care. The women held each other tightly, sharing in each other's grief.

For so long, Jiraiya had been a pillar in her life, one who had seemed to be invincible. He had been able to walk away before everything had crumbled so why couldn't he just walk out of this?

"I-I can wake him… so we can say… a goodbye. He still has time, I wish to take him to Konoha so he can say goodbye."

Konan nodded in understanding and helped the Hokage to stand. If Jiraiya got to Konoha then there was hope for him; hope that they could heal him. Konan needed to cling onto that and hope to the very source of existence – not god for there was only one god amongst them and that was the false one, after all she was just an angel, the angel of a weeping village – that Jiraiya would survive.

Tsunade stepped up to Jiraiya and placed her hands on his head. She pulled away an instant later and sniffed, wiping her tears away as the man woke. His eyes were bleary and a rough, grating noise escaped his mouth as his lips formed the word 'Tsunade'. She held onto his hand and couldn't stop the tears leaking out.

"You idiot… what did I say about calling for help?" she chuckled weakly, "If not for Konan here, you would be a…" She couldn't say the next word, 'goner'.

"Jiraiya-sensei, there is much you need to be told… I will leave the room Tsunade."

Jiraiya watched his saviour walk out of the room and he turned back to Tsunade, a million questions in his eyes. He took her palm and traced the hitae-ate insignia for Konoha onto her hand and Tsunade got the question.

"You'll be proud; Naruto made Rokudaime. Beat Minato in age too, youngest Hokage in history. It worked for Suna didn't it? And Gaara was younger than Naruto…"

Tsunade sniffed loudly, trying to contain the sobs that threatened to overwhelm her. Jiraiya could sense something was wrong, she knew it, yet he couldn't ask the obvious question. It hurt to push the subject back but she couldn't let Jiraiya know he would most likely die.

"He was doing so well when I left… still a kind hearted old fool. He picked up a renegade Uchiha on his journey too, not the one he set out for though."

Jiraiya's eyes widened and he retraced the Konoha symbol, adding a line through it. Tsunade nodded and Jiraiya stared down at the bed in shock.

"He always was the most surprising ninja, eh?"

A tear slipped through Tsunade's defences and she breathed deeply. She had to tell him now.

"Jiraiya… we'll be leaving for Konoha soon."

Confused eyes turned to Tsunade and she looked away, looking to his hands instead. The man tilted his head slightly and motioned stabbing himself, pointing to his throat to emphasize his point.

"I know you haven't healed… that's why we have to get to Konoha. They'd be able to heal you there."

The undeniable panic Tsunade saw in his eyes unsettled her; Jiraiya was normally like a rock in the way that nothing could uproot him. Jiraiya was the one who never panicked, even if he did come up with some crappy strategies and idiotic tendencies. He prodded her in the arm and the message was clear; why can't you heal me.

"You have a twisted gut… it takes too much chakra and time for me to do it now. If we don't get back to Konoha then-"Tsunade broke off, unable to continue.

Jiraiya understood though and took her hand, curling her fingers until only the index finger remained pointed. He took her hand closer to his neck and she felt a heavy weight settle over her as he dragged her finger over his neck in a slicing action. She nodded slowly and a calloused thumb wiped off the tears.

Tsunade prised her hand from the Toad Sennin's grasp and walked over to the door, knocking on it softly. Konan entered a second later and walked over to Jiraiya, hugging him without a word.

"Take care, Jiraiya-sensei." She turned to Tsunade and handed her a sheet of paper. Konan walked over to the case and pulled a wrinkled butterfly – brown and unmarred – from it and placed it in Tsunade's hand.

"It has residual chakra of mine in it… if you need to send any messages to me then write it on the paper but if you get into danger then send that memory into the butterfly and I will help in any way I can. The butterfly will destroy itself in the event of my death."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. From what she said it sounded like Konan had a specific plan in mind. If Konan planned to sacrifice her life for them, she didn't know how she could react. There was Pein to take into account, of course, and the rest of the Akatsuki, but they had managed to be around unnoticed so far. Couldn't they just keep it that way a little longer?

"Thank you, Tsunade, for everything."

Tsunade looked at the emotion in Konan's eyes and held the woman in a hug. She felt the younger stiffen yet held tighter.

"Thank you for saving him."

Konan nodded before Tsunade disengaged their contact. Together they helped Jiraiya stand and it was only a few minutes before the man could stand unaided, with help of medical chakra that Tsunade pumped into his legs.

They left abruptly, Konan leading the pair of Sannin down the hall. It was surprisingly easy and they reached the door in what Konan considered record timing. She smiled; the first that either Sannin had seen since their time in Amegakure – until her heart thudded in her chest.

It couldn't be…

"You should know that a God sees all."

Konan's blood ran cold as Pein's voice echoed around them. She half turned, keeping Tsunade and Jiraiya's frozen features in view.

"Run," she muttered, just loud enough for the pair to hear.

Konan could feel Tsunade's eyes on her and she tore her gaze from Pein's figure to plead desperately with the former Hokage,

Just get out of here…

Tsunade shook her head and took a deep breath. Konan closed her eyes slightly and split into millions of paper butterflies, all of them swarming over to the Sannin. She couldn't let the only hope she had had for a long time die before her. It couldn't happen, not again.

"If we fight together then we may stand a slight chance. Jiraiya you have to get out of here, we'll distract him long enough."

Jiraiya looked as if he was about to argue but then both women shot him a look that promised a good beating if they ever survived this. He complied and readied himself to run. His eyes darted around the area, checking for any more of the six paths that Pein took.

"So we have the Hokage… or former Hokage and a man who I thought dead." A dry chuckle escaped Pein and he stepped into the corridor's light.

Jiraiya took a step forward, eyes focused in the shadows. Pein was little but a blur as he jumped backwards and, in the same movement, Jiraiya pushed past the Kunoichi and smoke filled the corridor.

When it finally cleared, Konan saw a dull brown whilst Tsunade saw white. Their eyes widened as they saw two of Pein's bodies before the objects blocking them, a steak through one's heart and the other headless. It appeared that Jiraiya had managed to block the attacks before they had even registered in the pair of Kunoichi's eyes. It was obvious that Jiraiya had been expecting an attack – he had been the last one to fight the Six Paths of Pein after all – and yet it shocked them to know that he had moved so fast that, for all their worth, they had been utterly useless.

The frog summon pushed the dead body away from Konan and turned a sad eye to Tsunade. Konan's eyes widened as she saw the sight and her legs crumpled.

Tsunade stood with eyes wider than dinner plates, her pupils shrunken to miniscule proportions. Her face was speckled in blood and, at a first glance; it appeared that the blood had come from the severed neck.

At a closer inspection – and the reason why Konan had crumpled – it wasn't Pein's blood that tattooed Tsunade and the arm through Jiraiya's chest was testimony to that. Tsunade's heart thudded in her ears; it couldn't be… anything but Jiraiya. They had had a small chance, a hope at survival if they had got to Konoha and yet the fool had ruined it all.

Jiraiya's words rung through her ears and hot tears made their way down to the ground as she remembered what he had said at the bar before he left,

We have to set an example to the younger generation…

To die protecting a precious person was a beautiful example, no matter how much heartbreak it brought.

 **Inspect**

 **to look at, or examine, carefully or formally**

 **調べる**

The troops were lined up, complete in shining armour and porcelain masks. In Naruto's own opinion he had to admit that he was intimidated by these fighters but his face remained stern; they were trained professionals and he was currently in their domain.

He knew that if he showed even a miniscule amount of fear in the face of these Shinobi that they would turn against him. They were like wild animals; a hint of submission and there was no going back. You had to exert your position as soon as you came across it; otherwise you may as well submit yourself into a life of being lead by them.

The basic clothing consisted of ANBU uniform, armour plating, masks and an optional cape. Many of the troops assembled had various other weaponry or protective gear but each and every one looked after their equipment. Naruto supposed they had to in order to avoid Danzou's wrath.

"Here they are, Hokage-sama."

In all there were approximately thirty Shinobi before him and Naruto ran his eyes from each figure, easily identifying the younger ROOTs from the elder. One figure caught his eye and he called the mask forwards,

"Mujina-san, please."

The badger masked ANBU stepped forwards and Naruto crouched down a little so he was within eye level of the member. Whoever was behind the mask appeared to be a child; their bone structure behind the clothing and armour was thinner and lighter than that of the adults and the clothing itself seemed of a lesser quality; good if someone was going to grow out of it.

"Please remove your mask."

The head turned to Danzou and Naruto blinked slowly; each and every one of these people would check with Danzou, he was sure of it. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Danzou shake his head and the ANBU merely saluted at the Hokage.

It was easy to tell that the Ne member would now refuse all of Naruto's requests and he fought the urge to snarl in Danzou's direction. The man really did have the whole of this division in the palm of his hand.

"Danzou-san, I do believe that your subordinates should take the full weight of their priorities. The Hokage does, after all, have a higher status to their superior."

Danzou smiled wryly and shook his head once again, the bandages over his eye slipping down slightly as his face crinkled.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but all of my subordinates only refer to me. It was declared that way in the contract I signed when ROOT was first set up."

Naruto dismissed the badger Nin before him with a wave of his hand and he glanced at an emotionless Sai. An idea sprang to mind and Naruto faced Danzou, eyes alight with emotion.

"Let me talk to them one on one."

Danzou's face fell and he fought to control his expression. Naruto knew this was exactly what Danzou had feared, after all, Naruto had been able to get through to one of his best men (Sai had been told by Danzou himself that he had been chosen primarily because he was of the same age group, but also because he was one of the best ROOT had to offer) and most likely could do it again.

No matter how much you trained or broke a person, there was always a change – no matter how slim – that you could return them to how they used to be. Naruto had a healing quality in this respect and would be able to help anyone who came near him; on the conditions they were willing to try and it was within their personal capacities.

"I don't think that would be wise Hoka-"

"Danzou this is a direct order from your Hokage. You will allow me to talk to each of them, unmasked and without influence or I will shut this organisation down."

Danzou paled a little but nodded his head obediently. It was amazing really, how far a little bit of force got you. Danzou would want to remain in his comfortable seat of power for the largest amount of time as possible and it was through this that Naruto would be able to strike deals and bargain for certain necessities.

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

Naruto nodded curtly and called to the badger ANBU again. The person darted forwards, mask focused solely on Naruto this time. It wasn't hard to tell when your Taichou was treading on thin ice and that was the cue for you to act accordingly to appease both your Taichou and the person dissatisfied at your Captain.

"Please follow me to the tea room." He turned to the cloaked figure of Itachi and Sai whilst dropping his voice,

"Please remain outside and alert; I do not trust this place. If an attack does occur I can handle it on the inside but I'll need your help in securing the area. I don't particularly want to shut ROOT down but that is one of the lesser worst case scenarios."

Two heads nodded and Naruto looked down to the badger mask. Without a sound he walked onwards, Itachi and Sai behind, leaving Danzou and the other recruits behind. He heard the elder male call to his troops to remain where they were and wait, knowing full well that was what Naruto wanted him to do.

They reached the tea room with ease – it hadn't been too far from their meeting point and Naruto had a wonderful memory. The Hokage slid the door open, holding it for the ANBU and closing it once he had stepped inside. It was just the two of them now and Naruto was going to make the most of this time.

"Please may you remove your mask? I will allow you to place it back on before we leave this room but it would be nice to see who I am talking to." Making a quick assessment of the figure and determining it acceptable, Naruto ventured a slight joke, "After all, you can see who I am and it's a little odd to be talking to porcelain isn't it?"

Hesitant hands twitched before the mask's eyes turned to the door as if making a silent plea to the outside world. After a few seconds the person decided that no one would come to his or her saviour and moved to untie the knot holding the porcelain design to their face. Naruto fought to keep his face at an expressionless stance when he saw the face behind the mask.

"What is your name?"

The person before him could be no older than twelve, at the most, and she had wide eyes, eyes that belonged to a haunted child. She was still just a child, probably wouldn't even be out of the Academy had she been in proper conditions.

"Mujina, Hokage-sama."

Naruto looked away from the dark eyes, afraid of showing this child how hurt he was by the fact that she no longer had a name. She was just another mask of Danzou's, caught in his web of lies and plots.

"How long have you been in Danzou-san's… care?"

The girl was slow to reply but she eventually did,

"I cannot remember… I have always been here."

Naruto nodded and his eyes softened; Shinobi villages often had many orphans, especially to non-clan families. Within a clan you always had another relative to look after the child or give support in the event of a parent's death. For non-clan Shinobi it was always so much harder; they had no one to fall back on and the children either ended up in the orphanage or somewhere like here; Danzou took nothing for granted and squeezed everything for every drop.

"Would you ever consider taking a different path if you had a choice?"

Naruto did not bother to sugar coat his words or dumb down his meanings; this wasn't a child before him. She was a fully responsible young woman who was capable of killing a man because of one hand sign from the Captain. She was ruthless and yet so innocent at the same time. She understood the realities of the world and would only think badly of him if he did decide to treat her as her age.

The girl turned her eyes away from Naruto's and focused on the door. She was obviously uncomfortable, yet, being young and obviously still had part of her that longed for a childhood, she spoke of her opinions. And, even though she most certainly was not a child, Naruto found he connected with her like he did with children.

"I always see other children playing… I want to… to be like…"

She stopped before she finished and Naruto understood; Danzou had drilled everything into her and she had spent her whole life living by how he wished her to live. The words had escaped her throat thickly, held back by the restraints Danzou had placed upon them a long time ago.

"I have the rights to pull you out of this organisation. I made it clear to Danzou-san that if I wanted to I could take anyone out of here."

The girl looked up sharply, eyes widening,

"But Danzou-sama…"

"Won't be able to get to you; I will extend the personal security that the Hokage's family gets to every member who leaves this organisation. I will also leave it up to you about what you wish to do, whether you wish to continue as an ANBU, though under my division, or whether you would like to be placed in a team or even the academy."

The child looked away and Naruto noticed her hands fiddling with the fabric of the tie on her mask. Naruto remembered something that might sway her,

"You know the man outside who is standing guard right now?" He waited for the girl to shake her head before continuing,

"He used to belong to ROOT. He was placed on my team a while ago and I changed him. Sai is one of my closest friends now and I do not know what I would do without his friendship.

"Every person in Konoha is part of my family, even you. I came here today to see if the programme Danzou is running is suitable. He knows that I will take people out of it if I wish to but what I want to know is what you want to do."

Naruto sat back on his cushion and waited with a slight smile of encouragement on his face. The girl's expression changed from surprise to curiosity and then confusion. He was winning her over slowly, and it would be worth the wait.

"You don't have to decide know, I will be happy to take you out any time. It would be easiest if you did it now but all you need to do is stop by my office sometime."

Mujina nodded slowly and Naruto smiled.

"Shall we go back then?"

The girl reattached her mask and Naruto opened the door again, waiting for the girl to exit first. Itachi and Sai looked at Naruto and he gave a curt nod; she was one who could be persuaded.

Danzou watched as the four Shinobi reappeared. His face lifted in a smug smile as he saw the mask in full place and Naruto knew that the man had thought he'd won.

"Could I have the striped mask next please?"

The grin fell from the old man's face as he realised that Naruto was serious about the private interviews. The trio walked off with their latest Shinobi and Danzou turned to the lion masked Nin beside him, the Taichou of all the ROOT ANBU.

"Do you remember the half formed plan we made up in the event that a Hokage was to dig too deeply into this organisation?"

The tilt of the mask was all the signal Danzou needed to know the confirmation.

"Good because I do believe it is time we try to find out just how much of this plan is missing. Get ready to carry it out efficiently before they come back for the next member; this counts as the Hokage digging too deep and I don't want to give him the option of taking my men away."

The Nin nodded once again and replied,

"Of course, Danzou-sama."

Limbs froze and a badger mask turned the other way, away from the man who inspired fear in her and the man who acted on orders from this fear. She had heard the conversation clearly (after all, they all thought her to be the loyal one; no one in ROOT would dare sell another out, they were all in the same boat) and knew that it would give a catastrophic outcome.

Even if the Hokage wouldn't be defeated, to get the Taichou of the ANBU involved was bringing on a serious charge and there was a change that Naruto-sama would be caught unaware.

Without a second thought to her own safety, Mujina slipped from the room and her footfalls echoed around the hallways as the fought time to get back to the tea room.

 **調べる**

"What is it that you want Sasuke?"

The Uchiha turned his head as his name was called yet showed no signs of responding verbally.

To Sasuke, Madara was another stepping stone to overcome; something that would get him to his final goal yet nothing more. Madara wanted power and Sasuke would supply him with that as long as he got what he deserved; namely Konoha.

"Come on now, you know that it's rude not to answer. We're of same blood, are we not?"

Sasuke looked up slowly, eyes full of disrespect to the elder. Madara chuckled and shook his masked head. It was still fun to taunt the boy merely for the fact that he was so painstakingly contrasting to Itachi.

"It's just you and I, Sasuke… tell me what you really want. I know you read the tablet in the meeting room."

Sasuke fought to control his Sharingan as the Amaterasu threatened to react to Madara. How was it that even after so long of fighting to control it and thinking he had mastered it, there were times when the Amaterasu appeared to act on its own. Was the difference between the two brothers that much?

"Why the hell did you do it? Why did you teach my brother? You said so yourself that it is indirectly your fault he had to sacrifice so much… why?"

Madara's mask turned to look at Sasuke, the one eye focused directly on the younger male.

"Why? Itachi asked for a deal with me. We've been through this before Sasuke," Madara moved forwards in his chair and tapped the table with his knuckles. "We made a deal, I would get my revenge on Uchiha as long as I didn't harm Konoha."

Sasuke looked down and bit back the retort that he knew would earn him some sort of comment from Madara.

"Then how can I complete my aims?"

Madara chuckled, he was so naïve.

"You expect me to keep a dead man's promise? I cannot do that! If every Shinobi went around fulfilling such requests then the world would be in chaos. Besides, Itachi is water under a bridge and all you need to do is look out for yourself. Tough times will be coming up soon… especially as you are to be collecting that Bijuu soon. I will be sending in the Akatsuki to Konoha soon so we can begin the process that you wish to complete… but what I want to know, Sasuke, is what you want."

Sasuke looked into Madara's eye and analysed the man from that one eye. It wasn't an issue of trust; Sasuke wouldn't trust anything that this man either did or say unless he was certain that he was telling the truth. He had to believe in him, for now at least, because there simply was nothing else that he could do. A war would be starting soon and Sasuke knew that he would just end up caught in the middle… there was no way the Uchiha clan would be setting foot inside of Konohagakure again unless it was on the terms of war.

"What do I want?"

Madara inched forwards a little as Sasuke's voice trailed off.

"The power of the Bijuu, to control such enormous power…"

Madara nodded and smirked under his mask,

"I know you have had a taste of that power, you managed to suppress the Kyuubi's chakra; not an easy feat. Do you want all of that at your fingertips? To be able to crush a whole area of building, destroy whole sections of towns… whole countries, clans even…"

Sasuke's eyes glossed a little as he was lost in the memory of the Kyuubi's chakra. He remembered the power surge it had given him, as well as the dirty feeling that crawled along after it. Sometimes he wondered how Naruto could stand to have something of such disgusting quality within him.

"Is that your final goal, Sasuke?"

Sasuke's head turned and he shook his head.

"I don't know what I want."

Madara grinned; everything was turning out to be better than he had planned.

 **調べる**

Naruto sighed as the ROOT member refused to take his mask off; it was the third attempt to get the man rid of his mask but he wasn't having it. It was to be expected really; this member was older and so would most likely be more loyal to Danzou than the previous candidate.

"If you ever feel that you would like a position anywhere else then please do not hesitate to visit me. We'll be able to sort something out."

The man left without a word, not even waiting for the Hokage. Naruto rubbed his head; he was only on the second person and already Danzou's Shinobi were doing his head in!

"Hokage-sama…"

Itachi and Sai stood behind the badger masked girl as she stood in the doorway. Naruto looked up in slight alarm for the girl was out of breath yet holding it back, almost as if she wanted to remain hidden.

"Danzou-sama… Taichou-sama… he's planning on attacking… you."

Naruto's eyes widened and he ushered the two dark haired Shinobi inside. They slid the door shut and sat down in a circle, facing each other. It was one thing to anticipate an attack and to receive one, especially in territory that could be considered foreign.

And Ne division was the exact definition of 'foreign' to Naruto' he was the only Hokage who had openly visited it, noticed the sister organisation to his ANBU and took time to review it.

"Danzou doesn't like what I'm doing… he obviously wants as much power as he can get…"

"Naruto-sama," Itachi warned respectfully, reminding the Hokage that they were with company.

"I understand but I wish to show Danzou exactly what he is dealing with. Unless there are more than two members on the assault, I wish for you to remain without contact.

"I will most likely leave after this skirmish so, Sai, could you write a letter to as many people as you can? Just let them know that they have an alternative, let them be aware that I will help them if they so wish for it."

Sai nodded and pulled out his ink and a blank scroll. Naruto turned back to Mujina and signalled for her to stay put.

Naruto walked out of the room with a soft smile on his face. His eyes flickered to the side and he placed his hands behind his head, whistling joyously as he did so. A dark shadow appeared behind the Hokage and the others knew now that Danzou was open with his methods, confident that he would succeed.

And why not be confident? His ANBU were some of the strongest Shinobi and Kunoichi in the land. They met every challenge that was put to them with gusto, seemingly never failing.

Itachi hated this, hated the silence as he waited and hated the fact that he couldn't do anything to help as he had to remain hidden. They waited patiently, Sai coiled and tensed between Itachi and Mujina, as they heard Naruto begin the 'skirmish' between them.

"Hiraishin no Jutsu," Naruto muttered calmly and a yellow blur cut through the corridor. Itachi could feel the surprise radiating off of the stalking Shinobi before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

"I think it is time I spoke to Danzou in private. Thank you for everything Sai, if you could give one letter to each member that would be a great help."

Sai knew that Itachi and Naruto had business that he had no part in and he respected their decision; if anyone could face off against Danzou it would have to be Naruto. There were aspects of Konoha that he would never know about – not that he was sure he did want to know about them – and Sai knew this was one of them.

Naruto nodded to Itachi and they left the other two. Mujina scuttled off shortly after, most likely to wait out the anger Danzou would feel at her betrayal and Sai sat down to compose his letters.

The walk back to Danzou left Naruto seething in anger at the sheer audacity of the man, so confident that he had this power to attack the Hokage in front of Konoha's Shinobi, Naruto's friends, and to do it secretly, when he was trying to help the poor souls stuck in Danzou's web.

Itachi walked calmly, the unconscious Nin slung over his shoulder. If there was anything to thank the time in the Akatsuki it would be his; although he personally hadn't carried any bodies back (Kisame had carried them on his sword) he had seen others do it and knew the most comfortable way to hold a body on yours.

Danzou was waiting for them back at the hall, all of his troops had dispersed and the man himself wore an interesting expression.

"Would you care to tell me why in hell's name you set your Captain to take me out? Do you really doubt my abilities so much that you are willing to attempt an assassination?"

Danzou looked away, unidentifiable emotions bubbling in his eyes.

"The evidence is too circumstantial; my views may or may not have swayed the Taichou. Say if he just acted of his own accord?"

Naruto nodded, agreeing that Danzou was correct. A sly smile crept to the old man's face and Naruto was reminded suddenly of why he had nicknamed him one of the Three Oni.

"But you forget that I am the Hokage now. All cases have to go through me and I can choose to intervene if I think that the trial was too biased. As I am involved here I think that it proves you guilty but I will let it go. Here is your man,"

Itachi released the man he had been holding and the Shinobi stumbled forwards. He had regained consciousness just after they had started talking yet had remained motionless, mainly due to being held tightly.

"Report," Danzou barked and the man replied instantly. It sickened Naruto and Itachi to hear the Shinobi respond much like a whipped dog would; quickly without wasting any time. If any time was wasted then there would be a huge problem.

"Target fought using the Hiraishin no Jutsu without the use of kunai. I had no chance, sir."

Danzou frowned yet turned to Naruto with a slight twinkle in his eye. It wasn't every day that his Taichou admitted he had no chance what so ever and yet he was slightly proud. For Naruto to have mastered the quality of the Jutsu to that level was astounding… the Yondaime had spent a lot of time and effort on it and it was enthralling to know that his son was spending time recreating what his father had, only evolving it to the full potential.

"Well done for mastering the Hiraishin no Jutsu to the fullest level… not even your father took it any higher saying that it was perfect enough. As I am sure you know, evolution is necessary for the Ninja community and, without it, there is no point in you being Hokage or anyone going on missions. It is who we are."

Naruto's eyes narrowed at the mention of his father yet he thanked Danzou nonetheless. He even found himself agreeing to the latter points the man had made; sure he was a little crazy and power hungry, but Danzou was a smart man and could still bring a lot to Konoha. If he remained on the right side of the Hokage and did as he was told, that is.

"I wish to talk about ROOT. I want you to disallow anyone under the age of ten. If it ever gets to the point then I will allow you to teach a taster session in the Academy or just come in and talk about it but I do not want children growing up emotionless. Do you understand?"

Danzou nodded but remained silent. It was clear that he too knew when he should play the part of whipped dog. Naruto was the Hokage, a Hokage who actually took notice to what he was doing and wanted to alter it. This was the mark of a great Hokage and the respect he felt for Naruto overtook the resentment… for the moment.

"I wish to remove Badger from your care. I will return in the week to collect her from you and if you try anything then, I will personally see to it that you receive some form of punishment."

Itachi drew back the hood of his cloak suddenly and revealed the Mangekyou Sharingan. It was an unexpected move that not even Naruto would have guessed Itachi would do. He had thought that the cloak would remain on and smiled at the shock on Danzou's face; obviously he hadn't been expecting it either.

"Remember that Naruto-sama will not be the only looking out for you."

Itachi's voice was stern, cold and that of a ruthless killer. Naruto surmised that it was now Danzou was remembering that this Itachi was no longer the young teen who had assassinated his family upon orders. This Itachi was the one who had survived amongst ruthless Missing-Nin, who had played the part of the bad guy so spectacularly that no one, not even his own flesh and blood, had been able to see through the lies.

Naruto turned and walked towards the door, pleased with how this meeting had ended.

"Thank you Danzou-san it has been a pleasure."

"Of course Hokage-sama."

Both caught the sarcasm in the man's voice and Naruto smiled; it appeared that one never could let go of all emotion after all. For all Danzou claimed, he could still be brought to express himself.

 **調べる**

The taste of war was all around him and Madara bathed in its glow. His whole life had been one long battle and the man wondered how he had ever lived during peace. Peace was something boring, monotonous and life thrived in peace. What good was being a Shinobi if there was only peace?

If Itachi had been the peace maker then Madara was his perfect opposite. Two Uchihas who had been raised in a war; one sworn to protect the village, the other sworn to destroy it. It was funny, really, how everything had turned out. The one that everyone assumed to hate Konoha was really the protector of the damned village.

"Kyuubi…" Madara whispered remembering the power he once unleashed upon the leaf. It had been euphoric, addictive and so utterly, purely amazing.

A disturbance sounded near him and Madara looked round; Zetsu stood there looking at Madara. The mismatched colours of the man's face almost disturbed Madara but, instead, he smiled and waited to hear what he had to say.

"The footage is ready."

Finally

"So you finally have the fight between Itachi and Sasuke for me to look at?"

Zetsu nodded and Madara followed the man as they walked to a room with a huge screen plastered on the wall. Zetsu had a unique skill that allowed him to retain images or footage for later viewing, much to Madara's pleasure.

He sat in the seat and watched the film; what he saw angered him.

Something was wrong with Itachi and it wasn't just the illness. Madara had experienced the same illness until his brother had donated his eyes. It killed from the inside, burning your lungs and constricting the trachea. Itachi wasn't feeling the full effects due to the medicine that he had made up but there was also something else…

… Almost as If Itachi was constantly weighing up an idea.

Madara's eyes narrowed as the figure of Susanoo came into view; he had always assumed that Susanoo was merely just a legend. No one had used the god's personal techniques and never had Orochimaru's hydra technique been destroyed so easily.

He was at a loathe to say it, but Itachi had been a bloody good Shinobi. If only it weren't for the whole peace bit.

A bird cawed outside and Madara smirked as he watched Itachi fall; everything had its time to die and the evidence for Itachi's final plans were all laid bare… it was just time for Madara – the coroner equivalent – to unravel the full mystery that was Uchiha Itachi

 **Resist**

 **to make a stand or make efforts in opposition; act in opposition; offer resistance**

 **抵抗する**

Tsunade looked in shock as Jiraiya crumpled to the ground, a smile left on the cold face. Tears rained down on her cheeks yet she paid little mind to them; it was the same expression she had worn once Dan and Nawaki had died.

Another precious person to be put to rest six feet under.

Tsunade looked at Konan beside her and knew that the woman was running through every memory she had of Jiraiya and thinking how she could have prevented the pervert from giving his life to save them.

"He managed to destroy three of my bodies… something I must congratulate him upon."

Tsunade noticed Konan shiver and wipe the tears from her drying eyes; Pein was still out there and the Kunoichi would make sure that Jiraiya's death was not in vain. Konan stepped closer to Tsunade and took her hand before whispering,

"We'll run as far as we can, find a suitable place to fight him on our terms. If we even attempted it here he would win without trying."

Tsunade nodded and not a second later were the women running out of the corridor. A laugh echoed after them but both blocked it from their minds. Tsunade hated having to leave Jiraiya behind but there was no other option; if neither of them ran now then they would end up wasting Jiraiya's sacrifice.

Droplets of blood joined in with the sweat that rolled down Tsunade's face, mingling with the tears, but they carried on running. Her mind attempted to process all the information but a dull thud was ringing through her head and down to her chest, reminding her that someone else had died.

"Tsunade-sama… you need to get back to Konoha."

Tsunade nodded but the movement stopped as Konan took her hand in both of her own before letting go.

"Konoha would welcome you…"

Tsunade knew it was useless to even try and ask but she needed to; at this point in time the only person who Tsunade could relate to – talk about the situation – was Konan and the two females had grown surprisingly close in their time together. Neither acknowledged it, of course, but it didn't mean that it wasn't there.

"I planned to do this when you left with Jiraiya-sensei to give you more time but now that… he saved us you need to go alone. I'm sorry and I will give you as much time as I can but you need to get to Konoha… once Pein gets through me – as he will, I can tell you know – he'll see you gone and report to Madara. Madara will come for Konoha… even if you have a replacement Hokage… for the sake of the Elemental Nations keep Naruto-kun away from Madara… do not even let him know the man's name if it can be helped."

Tsunade's shoulders shook as the woman pushed her back a little.

"Don't worry about me, Tsunade-sama; I knew that I would join my weeping country in death. Maybe then the ground would soak up the tears faster than they fell and I could feel the warmth of the sun once again."

Hot tears once again slid down Tsunade's cheeks but she took a moment to hold the younger woman close to her and whisper in her ear,

"Even if he left you he would never have stopped thinking about you. When you see him… please tell him that I forgot to tell him something."

Konan looked into amber eyes and the Hokage looked back.

"Tell him I loved him."

With that, Tsunade let go of Konan and gave a sad smile. She took off down the corridor, following the combined sound of rain and the light from outside; the exit wasn't too far away.

"How sentimental. Do you have a need to confess undying love to anyone?"

Pein's voice cut through the corridor and Konan could see three pierced figures. Her eyes narrowed and the flower in her hair shifted slightly as her body tensed.

"You know, out of all the people to betray the Akatsuki I never thought that you would be one. I always suspected Itachi… that's why Madara paired him up with Kisame; he knew that Kisame would be loyal to an organisation if it offered him protection. Itachi probably knew that but then he was a special case… he was always so reluctant when it came to retrieving the Kyuubi and I do believe that he still had an attachment of sorts to Konoha."

Konan remained silent, her jaw gritted tightly. She would not be the one to give Pein the satisfaction of getting a true answer, a confirmation of anything.

"But for you… though it makes sense after everything I have done. Once I destroy you here I will be the only one aside from Madara who knows the truth."

Konan shuddered involuntary and a smile spread over the visible Pein's face. He took a step forwards, light illuminating the whole of his face. The features that Konan had often glimpsed were gone completely and she raked her eyes over the skin, searching for her kin.

"You won't find him… he's gone Konan."

Konan looked into the Rinnegan with all the hate she could muster. She knew there was no way to win against this man but she would be able to hold him off for a while. That much was in her capacity.

"Then I shall avenge him," she said whilst placing he hands together and her cheek moulded into paper. It had begun.

 **抵抗する**

Naruto looked at the small stack of paperwork and sighed; it had been almost a day since he had met with Danzou yet he was still thinking of ways to counter the man. Naruto knew that whatever he was to throw at the man, he would be met with resistance in various shapes or forms. Naruto was almost at his wits end when an idea came to mind,

"Shall we go for a walk?"

Itachi looked out of the confines of his cloak with a slight scowl.

"Where would we go?"

In truth the pair hadn't been exclusively alone with nothing else to do in a long time. Nights consisted of dragging one's self to the bed (any bed it didn't really matter) and sleeping as soon as head hits pillow. If Naruto ever got a free period of time between paperwork and meetings that had suddenly become mandatory, they were either spent eating or snoozing.

"There is a garden above the Hokage towers, according to Tsunade, and I think now would be a good time to have half a day off or so."

Itachi grunted his consent and stood, Naruto following. They walked out the door as man and bird and Shizune looked up in expectancy;

"Yes Naruto?"

"We're going up to the roof… do we need a key or anything for the gardens?"

Shizune tilted her head and shook it slightly,

"Tsunade-sama never mentioned one. I shall come for you if there is no other option but for any meetings I will postpone the ones I can."

"Thank you Shizune," Naruto said and the pair walked off down the corridor.

Naruto knew where the staircase to get up to the top levels of the Hokage tower was; he had located it upon stealing the Forbidden Jutsu Scroll so long ago. Naruto felt Itachi take off as they reached the flight of stairs and he ran, chasing after the dark body of the raven. The noise of footsteps, Naruto's cloak, Itachi's wings and the laughter of both (more a case of cawing for Itachi) filled the space and it was no time at all until they reached the top.

Naruto pushed the door open and smiled at the scene that greeted him; a beautiful garden lay before his eyes and he suddenly felt lighter than he had in ages. Pathways, some almost hidden by flowers and greenery, darted around the area and archways of clematis, honeysuckle and ivy formed walkways. Itachi appeared next to Naruto, his hood down fully for the first time in ages.

"I never even knew something like this could have existed…"

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"It's a private utopia… restricted for Hokages only. And their company," Naruto added with a slight chuckle.

Itachi smiled slightly and moved off to look at the various flowers. He was amazed by the sheer quantity of foliage in the area and how it seemed in a constant balance.

"How do they get enough water? It doesn't rain that much in Konoha…"

"You see the lattice work above us?" Naruto looked up to see wooden frames over the main brunt of the plants, "I would say that there is a chakra regulated water system within the wood… and that this garden was set up by the Shodai Hokage."

Naruto nodded; the wood system was obviously made by someone with the Mokuton ability and as Yamato wasn't a Hokage it made sense that this was the first Hokage's gardens.

They chose one of the many paths and it eventually led to a small pond with a little wired pagoda. A weeping willow stood tiredly near the water and Naruto couldn't help but think how beautiful it looked. He said as much to Itachi,

"It is rather isn't it?" Itachi agreed and Naruto nodded again. The sun hit the pond and Naruto gasped at the reflections on the water.

"Beautiful," he whispered.

"I'd have to agree…"

Naruto looked at Itachi to find the man staring straight at him, a faraway look in his eyes. It was then that Naruto realised Itachi hadn't been looking out over the pond when he had said his latest comment. The clouds moved slightly and the sun's path altered once again, highlighting the contours of Itachi's face.

Naruto was painfully aware of how close the two of them had gotten and he reached out an arm so his hand smoothed against the soft skin of Itachi's cheek. He felt the older man's face tilt slightly so it fell heavier into Naruto's touch and Itachi's breath caught in his throat.

In sheer curiosity, Naruto ran his fingers over Itachi's cheekbones and down his jaw line. Never before had he been allowed this close to another human being, been allowed to touch another human this intimately, without it having to do something with fighting. He continued to explore Itachi's facing, the other hand joining its partner in their crusade.

The sun was fading yet Naruto's hands continued to explore, moving down Itachi's neck and discovering that the man was slightly ticklish. Itachi, for his part, remained mainly motionless, allowing Naruto to do as he willed. It was only when Naruto finally removed his hands that his mind came back from wandering and he stared blankly at the Shinobi.

"I am sorry for that…"

Itachi placed a finger over Naruto's mouth to silence him before bending down slightly and replacing his finger with lips. Naruto's movements stilled and he momentarily froze. Instantly Itachi pulled back, worry evident in his eyes,

"Forgive me, Naruto, I got carried away."

Naruto remained silent but his body spoke the words. He moved against Itachi and tilted his head a little so that their lips met. Itachi was hesitant at first but when he felt the pressing of the Uzumaki's mouth against his bottom lip, he melted into the touch and the kiss' control was passed to the elder participant.

Naruto had never truly kissed anyone before yet his body responded alarmingly naturally to the touches. He placed one hand between them, fingers gripping onto the fabric of Itachi's cloak and effectively pulling him closer. The other hand moved round to the back of Itachi's neck and rested there, able to apply an even deeper pressure at a later time, if needed.

Itachi's hands wound their way around Naruto's body, holding him close. Naruto could hear his heart in his ears and swore that he heard Itachi's own beating to the exact same rhythm. It was only when Naruto's lungs began to burn that he pulled away, a string of saliva breaking gently, as if denying the separation. Naruto wiped his mouth and smiled at Itachi,

"Thank you."

Itachi looked into deep blue eyes and nodded.

"Thank you as well."

The sun was starting to set and the pair moved to sit inside the wire pagoda, Naruto sitting between Itachi's legs and leaning his back against the Uchiha's chest. Itachi's arms wound round Naruto's waist and held the younger in place as they looked over the water.

If anyone were to see them they would have thought that this pair was the very definition of soul mates.

 **抵抗する**

The paper split from Konan's cheek and she moved backwards, a small Fuuton Jutsu pushing the paper forwards. If she used small movements that used either little or no chakra then she had a chance to stall Pein longer than they originally had hoped. The paper moulded itself at her will into miniature shuriken and hailed down on her former partner, even though she knew it would do nothing.

"As neither of us wish to use chakra, I assume it's best to just stick to taijutsu."

The tallest 'path' of Pein took a step out of the darkness and Konan recalled the paper. Taijutsu suited her just fine and it should – in theory – waste more time… as long as Pein played fair enough to cope with.

There was no doubt in her mind that Pein would use all three bodies to coordinate his attack; he wasn't the type to hold everything off especially in a situation where time was crucial. If he got to Tsunade, who knows what secrets he could get out of her… possibly even the resurrection of the other bodies that Jiraiya had destroyed.

Konan remembered the first missions with Pein after he had mastered the Rinnegan; the simplicity of his moves and the destruction they had caused had amazed Konan. The amazement had ended in a scar that ran the length of her outer left thigh and she had cried for her old team members that night. They, at least, would have held off the attack against her but in the Akatsuki, Konan was alone with the monster.

"Shall we dance?"

The 'path' came up to her and grabbed one arm, twisting her round to face him. She resisted the urge to cry out in pain as the muscle spasmed at the sudden twitch and flipped her body upwards, kicking the man in the face. He stumbled back at the force of her kick and dropped her arm.

Konan rubbed the muscle, kneading it between her forefinger and thumb, before standing upright from the crouch she had dropped into.

"I see you're serious now, Konan."

Konan nodded and both partners leapt at the same time, smashing into each other at the same moment. The momentum from the male crashed right into Konan and she flew backwards, spinning and rolling as she hit the floor.

"If you would just give up I am sure Madara will be willing to let you go… after all you are a strong Kunoichi and once the Akatsuki have achieved dominance strong Kunoichi will be needed for concubines."

Konan recoiled in disgust.

"You killed my brother. How the fuck do you think you'll get me to obey like some little whore?"

Pein chuckled and the fighting pair exchanged blows once more.

"It doesn't necessarily have to be me… Kisame maybe," Konan spat at the man she was fighting and Pein's chuckling grew louder.

"Alright then… I would suggest Madara but I think he swings to incestuous tendencies. Remember the thing he had with Itachi? And now Sasuke… he's like Orochimaru if you ask me… I mean, what's so good with the Uchiha's?

"Besides, your facts are wrong. I didn't kill your brother; you know full well that Nagato is alive." The Rinnegan glinted as Pein turned his head.

Pein walked slowly over to the pair when he noticed Konan was on the floor, her shin bone having shattered when the Taijutsu expert smashed into her the last time. Pein grabbed her by the chin and lifted her up off of the ground, ignoring the moan Konan gave when he pressed against her broken leg.

"How long I have waited for this…" Pein moved closer, eyes lining up with Konan's and his hand tightened. A grin spread over his face and Konan's hands tried desperately to loosen Pein's iron grip.

In one smooth movement, Pein replaced himself with the Taijutsu 'path' as Konan smirked in triumph. He watched as miniature paper senbon dug themselves into his neck and the body collapsed to the ground. Rather than releasing her, however, Pein caught the woman as she was falling to the ground and his other hand moved to catch her arms.

"Nowhere to run, what will you do?"

Konan let out a shriek as Pein dug his knee into her leg.

"I would play with you but I must report to Madara… I would say something like it was nice knowing you but it wasn't."

Konan closed her eyes as Pein's hand tightened and crossed her fingers in a meek hope. As darkness overwhelmed her she hoped that enough time had been bought. It didn't take long for the pressing at her throat to become unbearable and, with a shudder, her lungs gave up and her heart slowed until it stopped beating.

 **抵抗する**

Naruto and Itachi had returned to the office a little while later, just as it had been growing fully dark. They had kissed twice more and with every touch of the lips, Naruto felt himself falling deeper and deeper into… what exactly?

It couldn't be love; Naruto knew love simply did not pop up out of anywhere, it had to be earned. It couldn't be called lust either… though there was that too. The fact that Itachi was remaining quiet at the moment – though Naruto was working so it was kind of considerate of the Uchiha – didn't help Naruto's thoughts and it took a lot out of him to refrain from kissing Itachi again. There was something unique and amazing about being attached to Uchiha Itachi and Naruto never wanted it to end.

Naruto looked up sharply when a plume of smoke entered the room. Itachi was instantly on guard and Naruto noticed the kunai handle already laced around his finger. It was nothing to be less than expected, especially given the positions Itachi had held when he had been a registered Shinobi in Konoha.

Naruto briefly wondered that, in the event that Itachi should decide to publically return to Konoha, if he would take back his former ANBU Captain position. It wasn't like he didn't deserve it; Naruto would willingly give it back to him, but would the memories just be too much?

He knew that, either way, Itachi would have to make his existence public or leave for good… Naruto sincerely hopes that it was the former. A Konoha without Itachi seemed odd suddenly and the man was amazed at how much one person could change a life in the matter of weeks.

"Hokage-sama…"

The smoke cleared to reveal a group of toads and Naruto frowned. The eldest toad in the cloak blinked at Naruto once before coughing and looking round.

"Err… hey kid. Where's Tsunade-sama… we're here to report to the Hokage."

Naruto walked round to sit on the front of the table and sniffed.

"Tsunade-sama is no longer in Konoha. I have taken over the position of Hokage… Uzumaki Naruto at your service."

Naruto held out a hand to the toad and the amphibian took it gently. A wry smile overcame the toad and Naruto noticed the slight glint in his eyes, understanding dawning with the next words,

"You are also of Namikaze blood, am I right?"

Naruto nodded and the toad's face broke into a huge grin,

"Brilliant, I remember Minato, of course. He was a good man, kind as well as being a fantastic Shinobi. You have no idea how many people hated him for marrying your mother… the pair were practically Konoha's golden couple.

"This somewhat eases things a little… I am Fukasaku, one of the Sages of the Toads. Little Jiraiya used me an' Ma in his final battle with Pein."

Naruto's breathing quickened.

"Little Jiraiya was only meant to go in for information but once you've seen Pein there is little you can do. He thinks of himself as a God."

Naruto's hands clenched and he forced his voice to sound calm,

"Where is Jiraiya?"

Fukasaku bowed his head and Naruto could sense the next words. He had seen many people deliver the news that their loved ones had been killed in action and the blow could never be softened, no matter how many times you heard the words.

"I assumed he died in battle yet I was forbidden from coming here by the seals placed upon me by Little Jiraiya and the Great Sage… the fact that I am allowed to come here now shows that he has passed on."

Naruto bowed his head and willed the tears that had begun to form even before the toad elder spoke away. Crying wouldn't bring Jiraiya back but that didn't mean that he couldn't mourn for the man he loved as family. Jiraiya had been the only one he could firmly relate to family without any doubt; he had revealed Naruto's lineage as well as the fact that he was his godfather and Naruto had felt their bond grow stronger with every new skill he learnt from the old hermit, following in footsteps that were halfway between his and Minato's.

"Little Jiraiya passed a code onto me before he died and I believe he wanted you to look at it. It refers to the identity of Pein… Little Jiraiya had his throat crushed so was unable to tell me in any other way."

The small toad turned around and uncloaked himself at the same time. Naruto took down the number sequence, nodding slowly as the toad continued to talk. He knew Fukasaku would be leaving soon and that he would need to get this code down to the code breakers as soon as possible. Pein had not only killed his mentor but had put a permanent scar in Naruto's family fabric and, although he was not one for revenge, Naruto would show Pein exactly how much family meant to him.

"If you need us, please do not hesitate to summon anyone who will get back to me. We shall return tomorrow for a full report but for now we will leave you to deal with what you know."

Another plume of smoke rose and, once it had cleared, it revealed that the amphibians had vanished. Naruto allowed the tears to fall over his cheeks yet let out no sound.

"I shall make us dinner tonight," murmured Itachi's low voice and Naruto nodded his head, the only available actions being robotic and stiff.

Itachi walked closer to Naruto and stood by his side, allowing the Hokage the next move. Naruto suddenly flung his body at Itachi's and the tears fell into the black material. Itachi said nothing and simply placed a comforting arm around Naruto, letting the young man know that he was wanted. If it was anyone who knew about grief, it was Itachi, and he wouldn't let Naruto fall into the dark abyss he had been granted, the leering face of Madara all there was to content himself and the image of a safe Konoha pinned against his heart.

 **抵抗する**

The rain was the only thing that paid true attention to the desperate figure shuffling through the wet weather. People watched the bedraggled woman wander through the fire country, not a single one recognising her as the Legendary Sucker or the Godaime Hokage. She was a nobody; someone to be passed along like the rain, an insignificant droplet amongst millions of the same.

Tsunade wandered around, mind not focused on where her feet were headed. Her feet ended up on auto pilot and she finally found herself outside of a bar she used to frequently… with Jiraiya.

Fresh tears added to the tracks on her cheek but the blonde continued on, eyed half closed to the wind and rain and arms wrapped around her chest. The weather was relentless and she cursed her bad luck. Not only had it caused her to lose Jiraiya (why hadn't she placed everything she owned on him dying? At least then he would have lived, knowing her luck) but it caused her body to sink into further numbness, senses dulling to every single thing around her, a dangerous condition for a ninja to be in. All she wanted to do was to get home and sleep… thoughts and emotions could come out of that but she just wanted Konoha.

"Hey miss! Where you going in this weather… why not pull up a chair?"

Tsunade looked dejectedly at the rowdy voices to see a group of ruddy faced young men; all of them drunk. Not like Jiraiya. There was a man who could handle his drink.

Tsunade tried to cry the memories away; the first day she saw him – and her sigh when they were placed on the same team, treating him like the idiot he played up to, all because he handled his life happily and never dwelt on the negative sides, the goofy yet beautiful smiles whenever he announced he was fighting for his beliefs (beliefs that would be lost before being returned when Naruto was so adamant to rescue Sasuke, calling the legendary Toad Sannin a fool for losing his beliefs), the moans that had always escaped his mouth when he slated the Sandaime off for preferring Orochimaru…

How was it that Orochimaru still managed to live on (although not quite a conscious figure as the freak Kabuto had fused his self to his master… it was one confusing thing that Tsunade personally though was just weird) whilst the good one, the best one, had died. Orochimaru had tortured thousands of people, changed their lives for his own benefit, whilst Jiraiya had always tried to help.

Jiraiya was the one who deserved to be going into retirement, watching Naruto and his generation take over and sit back with her, drinking sake and laughing away the memories of old, recounting all the old stories and the new legends that rose with Naruto.

He had never even seen Naruto in office.

The scenery changed and Tsunade stumbled across roots and branches as she walked through the forest that she knew surrounded Konoha. The rain had let up a little and she was aware of sun rising? Setting?

She didn't know, didn't care.

The gates of Konoha were visible yet Tsunade stilled as she remembered all the times she had walked through them with Jiraiya. After Orochimaru had left Jiraiya and Tsunade had spent more time together, trying to rebuild their team of Sannin back up. The trio had grown a little distant over the years yet that had been one good thing about Orochimaru leaving; the left behind pair had become closer… until it had been Tsunade's turn to leave.

She thought she heard someone call out her name and a blanket was soon placed around her shoulders by someone with spiky, silver hair… Sakumo? No he died a long time ago… dead… just like Jiraiya.

It was Kakashi, Hatake Kakashi, not Hatake Sakumo. She had been close but not enough. Her mind was starting to dwell on the people she had lost, the Shinobi she remembered that had died. It was a dangerous path to wander down and Tsunade knew that opening old wounds was one of the worse thing she could do now, but it didn't stop the niggling she knew that would, eventually, lead to them.

Kakashi – not Sakumo – led Tsunade through the streets (her mind recognised the route they took as a hidden one, to keep away from prying eyes) and to a familiar building; the Hokage tower.

For a brief and wonderful moment Tsunade believed that she was back to twenty odd years ago when Jiraiya and Minato had convinced her to eat ramen with them. Minato had been a sweet man, much like Naruto, and Jiraiya had been his old lecherous self.

"Tsunade-sama we'll take you to Naruto now."

Even seeing the state of his former leader, Kakashi was so polite. She knew it was because he had lost everyone close to him, his family and his team, and she wondered how much it hurt him to wake up every day. She could see the slight flicker in his eyes when he had to be recounting lost memories, as she had seen the look in so many of her Shinobi, but Tsunade also knew that Naruto and Sakura were Kakashi's family now. He had people who depended on him being there and they would run him through hell if he ever thought of dying.

Tsunade managed a nod, withdrawing from her thoughts, and Kakashi dutifully led the Hokage through the corridors. Shizune paled and took the other side of Tsunade, draping an arm around her neck and dismissing Kakashi. The Jounin looked on in concern then decided it was evidently none of his business courtesy of the glare Shizune subjected him to. He knew better than to pry into grievances, it was a personal affair and he respected Tsunade for her devotion to whomever it was that had been lost.

Shizune knocked on the door before barging in to see Naruto and Itachi hugging tightly. Itachi nodded to the dark haired woman and she led the Hokage over to Naruto. Itachi caught the dark haired woman's eye and his eyes softened, releasing his grip on Naruto slightly.

"Naruto," Itachi whispered, "Someone's here."

Watery blue eyes looked up and met Tsunade's tear stained face. Itachi supported the blonde until he collapsed upon the Hokage and she hugged him tightly, both sobbing their private sorrows.

 **Weakness**

 **the state or quality of being weak; lack of strength, firmness, vigour, or the like; feebleness**

 **弱さ**

Naruto held onto the Godaime as if she was his lifeline. Now that Tsunade was back – and in such a state, absent from Jiraiya- it was concrete evidence that the man had passed on, just like Fukasaku had said. Tears spilt over his eyes yet Naruto paid no attention to the tracks that they made down his cheeks, rather he focused on the woman before him.

In all his life, Naruto had never seen Tsunade look this old. It had nothing to do with the genjutsu either; that was perfectly in place, if a little weakened. No, it was sheer exhaustion and grief that made the Hokage appear as if she'd aged a decade within days.

Time passed and it was only marked by the changing light within the Hokage's office; evening turned to dusk and then dusk turned to night. The only sound in the room had been the quiet sobbing of the two Hokage's and Itachi chose to interrupt the grievance with a delicate cough.

"Would the three of you like to be accompanied to Naruto's house? I told him I would cook for him tonight and I am more than happy to extend that gesture to all of you."

Shizune touched Itachi's arm gently and smiled; a clear gesture of the thanks she wanted to convey. No one should be alone tonight and they needed to get to somewhere where resting could be an option.

Itachi placed his hands together and moved through a sequence of seals. Shizune cocked her head as he touched the ground and the floor illuminated. Itachi then placed one hand on Naruto's shoulder and held out the other for Shizune to take. The dark haired woman did so and she felt the familiar pattern of a teleportation Jutsu. It took a lot of energy to transfer groups yet, when the smoke cleared outside Naruto's house, Itachi stood up, barely winded.

"I used a transformation square that reduced the amount of chakra needed. Being in the Akatsuki taught me a few things and most of them cut down the amount of chakra."

Shizune nodded, realising the amount of baggage that being in the Akatsuki carried. Not only did you have to be an experienced and amazing Shinobi, you had to continue to be amazing, furthering every ability you had to the point of death. It was the case for many of the other members and Itachi had certainly died for this cause, albeit one that was distorted with the promises to Sasuke.

She smiled at Itachi, wondering just how much this one man had seen and experienced all due to one group of people before putting an arm around the pair that as still attached in a hug. Naruto's sobs had ceased and Tsunade's were becoming dryer; had they finally run out of tears?

"I shall make something warming and simple… to take up time I'll heat up a can of soup that we have stocked in the larder. While the main meal's dishing, it'll be good to put something into your stomachs as I doubt that many of us here have had full and regular meals for the last couple of days."

Shizune nodded again and Itachi pushed the door open, holding it wide for Shizune to shuffle through with Tsunade and Naruto. As Shizune followed Itachi to the kitchen, Naruto untangled his arms from Tsunade's and brushed hair away from her face where it had stuck with the tears and the blood.

"Baa-chan," he whispered slowly, trying to draw Tsunade from her trance-like state.

"Come on… Itachi's going to make us dinner. Do you want a bath or something… you're covered in blood after all."

Naruto ignored the voice inside that prompted for him to think about who the blood had belonged to – Jiraiya – and led Tsunade over to the sofas. He seated them on the softest and Tsunade finally looked at him, eyes dulled from tears spilt.

"A bath would be nice… thank you." Her voice was subdued and weak from the crying but Naruto could still sense Tsunade, the strong willed Hokage, behind the weakness and he took her hand gently.

Naruto stood up and saluted with a slight grin. He tugged on Tsunade's hand and they left to the bathroom. Naruto twisted the taps until the faucet creaked and clattered with the force of the water that was gushing out.

Rummaging through the cupboards, Naruto found various bathing salts and bubble baths that had obviously been his mother's. He scanned the packaging for any use-by date or something to that effect and found them devoid of such; announcing them as free goods. Naruto closed the cupboard door and held up the items to Tsunade before whipping round, eyes screwed up tightly.

"Baa-chaaan…" he moaned and waited until he heard the woman slip into the water.

"Come on, Naruto… you've been to an Onsen hundreds of times. Plus I'm too tired to care and I bet you've seen a woman's body before. Even if you haven't then it's about time you did, you've seen pictures in text books anyway or was that one of the classes you skipped?"

Naruto wheeled round, mortified. Suddenly he closed his eyes and put out a hand, feeling for the edge of the bath. His hand met with something soft and he jumped, retracting his hand upon instinct with a yelp. If his hand had touched where he really didn't want it to then he was screwed.

"Open your eyes, idiot."

Naruto cracked one eye open and sighed in relief as he realised that he hadn't touched her breasts, just her shoulder. The panic that had been slowly rising in his stomach disappeared and he almost shrunk to the floor in relief, a smile on his lips.

"Thank fuck," he muttered before holding out the various bathing products again. Tsunade took the tub that contained peach salts and waved the other boxes away.

"Thank you, Naruto."

Naruto hummed and opened his mouth.

"For your information, no I haven't seen another woman like that and you can't compare this to an Onsen. Anyway, in an Onsen the sexes are split and it's used for cleansing. Also, I did not skip lessons, I found a way to use my time in a more productive manner… namely I was enhancing my Shinobi skills."

Tsunade snorted as she lowered herself further into the bubbles of the water and muttered something that, to Naruto, sounded suspiciously like 'how does pranking the whole village constitute to an education?' yet he ignored her in favour of continuing,

" Furthermore, it's weird seeing someone who you think of as a grandmother naked… it's just odd."

Tsunade began to mutter something uncannily like,

You would know all about Onsens, spending so much time with that pervert,

Before she realised what Naruto had said.

"Grand-m-mother?"

Naruto's face returned to mortification and he stuttered,

"Only… on-only if that's okay… I mean I don't know what one's like and it's kind of –no, what I mean is… you're fun but strict and – NO! I didn't mean that! I-"

Naruto was cut off by a chuckle and the water slapping against the edge of the bath. He grinned in return and Tsunade sighed in mirth; for both of them, water freed their emotions and allowed the room to breathe and forget, if only for a little time.

"I'll call you when dinner is ready then."

Tsunade thanked him and whispered,

"If you wanted to know, I think of you as a grandson…both Jiraiya and I did."

Naruto slipped out of the door, closing it with a murmur of thanks and the trace of a smile on his face. He knew that Jiraiya's passing wouldn't be in vain nor would he forget… but having Tsunade there would ease the pain; they would heal the wounds together and remember the Sannin how he would have wanted to be remembered… valiantly.

An old memory of the first time he had met the Sannin, the initial shock that anyone had the guts to simply case his teacher aside and then the elation that had coursed through him when he had finally agreed to teach Naruto and his addition of his self-created Jutsu in this bargain. He chuckled lightly, remembering how perverted the man had seemed on the outside yet those close to him knew it had been Jiraiya's way to diffuse situations, hide hidden and sometimes painful memories… most of the time. The remainder had been about the women and the 'sights'.

Naruto's nose led the way as he followed the scent to the kitchen. Meat sizzled in a pan and potatoes boiled in a pot. The sound of voices and a knife on the chopping board caught Naruto's attention and he walked in quietly, not wanting to disturb the chatter.

"Well I was never really taught how to cook… I remember when I was younger, the Yondaime came to the Uchiha district and he took notice of me. I was surprised when he pulled something from his pocket yet I had never had another book like it. It was a palm-held cook book, only basic things but stuff that you could work on to build up skills."

Itachi paused and Shizune said something that Naruto's ears couldn't quite catch yet Itachi chuckled.

"Quite ironic yes… I never thought I'd get to use Minato-sama's kitchen but here we are… the meat is just about done so if you want to add the vegetables, thanks." There was a clatter of kitchen utensils against each other and Naruto waited patiently for the conversation to pick back up. He was always fascinated when Itachi spoke of his life when he had still been in Konoha, even more so now that it included his father.

"Anyway, I mentioned my interest to Fugaku," here Naruto noticed the absence of the word 'father', "yet he would have none of it. I guess he didn't believe that Shinobi should have other interests so I watched my mother cook, sometimes with my Sharingan and sometimes without."

The pair were silent – aside from the culinary noises – for a while and Naruto thought that the conversation was over.

"Potatoes are done; all we need to do now is mash them and fill the dish… would you like to try some, Naruto?"

Naruto stood up with slight smile and rubbed the nape of his neck.

"I think I can wait."

Itachi nodded in approval and Shizune tilted his head, mouthing a small 'where is Tsunade'.

"Tsunade Baa-chan is having a bath at the moment. She said that she wanted to be called when dinner was ready."

Shizune nodded in relief and Naruto turned his body so that one dark eye caught Naruto's attention. Naruto understood the look and moved to the cupboard where the placemats were kept. Shizune watched as Naruto and Itachi performed silent conversation on what they needed and smiled to herself; Itachi was the perfect counter to Jiraiya's death and Naruto needed distraction from the grief that could, in time, overwhelm him.

"What do we do next?"

Naruto's voice actually sounded eager and Itachi glanced over at the Uzumaki. If he was a dog, the two elder people knew that a tail would be wagging in earnest.

"We place the mashed potato on top of the mincemeat and vegetables then place it in the oven to brown."

Naruto nodded and smiled softly; maybe they could come home earlier each day and Itachi could cook something… not that Naruto was a bad cook; on the contrary he was just about above average but the Uzumaki always preferred to be treated. He would give all he had in return but that old urge for acceptance and approval remained.

Ten minutes later, Naruto set off to get Tsunade and they all sat down a further five minutes later, all of them biding away the hole of grief with the heat radiating off of the Cottage Pie on the table.

"Would anyone like to say anything?"

Itachi's voice was careful yet both Tsunade and Naruto looked at one another. Naruto opened his mouth to speak and Tsunade sat back,

"It's odd…I'm not sure if it's a dream or just a joke... if it's reality then I'll miss you like hell you old fool… and there you were; calling me the fool when it was really you," Naruto chuckled darkly and wiped the tear that had descended down his cheek.

Tsunade shifted in her chair and her voice was startlingly firm as she spoke,

"We wanted to get you back here… so you could say goodbye." At this, the other three frowned yet Tsunade waved her hand, saying that she would explain it later. "I also wish that you could've told… shit…"

Tsunade stood up suddenly, fork clattering onto the plate and her chair toppling over. Tsunade ran out of the room and back to the bathroom where her clothes were still, blood crusted on the material. Her hand slipped into the pocket and she returned to the table with a withered lump in her hand.

Itachi hung his head immediately, recognising the action yet Naruto and Shizune looked on in confusion. Tsunade was speechless so Itachi took it upon himself to speak;

"I contacted her in the Akatsuki and she told me that Tsunade had arrived. Konan was Pein's partner and knew Jiraiya from when she was younger… she gave her life so Tsunade could get here." He turned to the blonde woman in the bathrobe, noting the shocked expression on Tsunade's face. "She planned it from the start, Tsunade-sama. When I contacted her she told me as much and I didn't attempt to tell her otherwise. She was as pitiful as the village yet she found a salvation in her sacrifice… it seems we are not just respecting one tonight but two brave souls, may they find the peace they deserve."

Tsunade allowed the butterfly to fall to the ground as the echo of 'Hear, hear,' sounded around the table.

The Cottage Pie lay cooling on the table and Tsunade knew that the drama hadn't affected it; in fact it should now be cool enough to eat.

 **弱さ**

Pein watched in a detached amusement as the corpse before him twitched. He knew there was no chance of his (former) team member returning to life and that the muscle contractions taking place were just that; involuntary muscular contractions. She was dead and Pein found the movement amusing… even in death the human body would still respond.

"Was that really necessary?"

Pein didn't turn to the speaker yet smiled grimly.

"Yes. She'll make a good replacement too; together they took out four of my bodies."

Pein's smile faded as he heard the click of air as the man behind him tutted.

"It's a shame that you cannot control the Rinnegan naturally and that you need six bodies to channel all of its potential. The founder of the Shinobi worlds was able to use on his body… then again he was naturally blessed with the limit."

Pein resisted the urge to retort as Madara once again struck that nerve head on. Instead he decided to relay the information he had learned recently.

"Konoha has been without Tsunade-sama ever since Jiraiya was thought dead."

Madara's head swivelled up and Pein almost winced as he heard the bones click with the hurry that had been exerted upon them. All the while that Pein had been goaded by Madara suddenly seemed worth that little input; Madara hated not knowing anything and this was a very big something.

"What?"

"I said that Konoha-"began Pein yet was cut off,

"I know, what I meant was why the hell weren't we informed by our sources?"

Pein frowned in slight confusion; Madara had never told him that he had sources in or around Konoha. It was an obvious fact, then, that the Uchiha still did not trust him. After so long in a organisation set to rule the world, even the most deadly of men would never fins a companion to trust. Pein supposed that the closest Madara had come to placing an emotion in another person was probably the lust he had felt over Itachi.

"That idiot… what the hell has he been doing? I never told you did I? I couldn't risk it with Itachi around but now I guess I can tell you… I have a man, quite a predominant one at that, who relays information to me. Danzou I believe his name was… conceited fool really; believes that I'll give him the world."

Pein and Madara chuckled yet nether in true amusement. Pein was still calming down the anger that had risen when Madara had openly taunted him and Madara's mind was whirling through one thousand plus possibilities.

"What do we do next?"

Madara looked at him from his mask and Pein stared back with the Rinnegan on proud display. It didn't matter if the doujutsu was technically stolen; it was still superior to the Sharingan.

"Konoha will be at a risk now on… I doubt they would have chosen anyone to take over the title of Hokage, especially as Tsunade-hime expected to return… my guess is that Konoha was kept in the dark and that the citizens have no idea that their Hokage worked with the enemy… upon enemy lines. Why would Konoha hide a new Hokage from the world? That would stir up trouble amongst the nations and possibly start a war…"

Madara trailed off and Pein waited patiently, annoyed at every moment that was spent wasted while the man thought.

"I want to move towards Konoha… choose someone you want to be partnered with and take a quick swoop at their defences. When you can be sure that they are weak then I want you to return and take Sasuke with you. It will be a final test to him, see if he can help in capturing the Kyuubi. He's out with Falcon at the moment getting the other Bijuu, but that one is wild and fairly easy to get once tired…"

Pein nodded his head and was about to set off when Madara spoke again,

"Don't reveal who you are or who you belong to."

Pein nodded, his jaw tightening at Madara's choice of words. It was true; the fact that they didn't belong to an organisation but Madara. Not all the members knew it but Pein did. He knew more than Madara suspected.

Pein walked down the corridor and sighed; the only person he would be able to take on this mission would be Kisame… Zetsu wouldn't be of any use and Madara wouldn't lift a finger. Pein didn't even look back as his two remaining bodies picked up the corpse of Konan and Pein's path and carted them off.

It didn't matter because Pein knew what would happen in the end and Konan would be nothing more than a body to transfer a ring of his power into.

 **弱さ**

Naruto looked out of his office window and fought away the memories and depression that threatened to take over ever since Jiraiya's death had been confirmed. Itachi cawed and Naruto turned to the bird,

"Why do you stay like that?"

Itachi cawed again and Naruto chuckled before receiving his answer; a knock on the door.

"Come in," he said and was surprised to see Kakashi standing there, no book in his hand.

"How is Tsunade-sama?"

Naruto gestured to the chair before his desk and sighed, knowing that whatever explanation he would give was to be the subject of much conversation later. It wouldn't be a hidden fact that Jiraiya had died and many Shinobi would be feeling despair now that one of the legendary Sannin had been taken down by their enemy.

"It's hard for her… I guess I only truly understand a fraction of what she is feeling, after all she knew Jiraiya practically all her life."

Kakashi's eye darkened and he bowed his head in respect. If anyone knew about the loss of team members it was Kakashi. His original team were all deceased and even the first Genin team he had taken ended up losing one, one who made it clear that he wasn't going to return anytime soon.

"We will hold a ceremony for him and… when things have settled."

Itachi-raven cawed and Kakashi looked up in surprise,

"Settled?"

Naruto bit his cheek yet nodded slowly; when you were tired and grieving it was harder to keep a hold on your tongue. There were some things that he simply couldn't afford to divulge to Kakashi and he was sure the Jounin knew that – certain that he knew it – and that this was simply Kakashi's way of asking if there was anything he could do.

"With Tsunade… she's been through a lot recently and I want her to be at full health."

Kakashi nodded slowly and rose from his chair, knowing when he had outstayed his welcome in matters of hidden business. He knew that Naruto would be fatigued for a while, possibly even days, and he would be there at his Hokage's beck and call, only if he wished it. To get in the way now would put more pressure on Naruto to hide whatever he needed to and Kakashi didn't want to be the one responsible for such a heavy task.

When you grieved, even functioning at a normal level became difficult. Naruto had to carry on, and not just for himself. If the Konoha Shinobi knew that their Hokage was distraught over Jiraiya's death longer than a few days (at the very most) they would start to wonder if it was just because the man had died, and not because the Akatsuki had proved to be undefeatable. Naruto had an image as a powerful Hokage to uphold and Kakashi knew he would do an amazing job… as long as he was allowed this time off beforehand.

"If you ever need anything, please ask."

Naruto nodded and the raven cawed as Kakashi retreated from the room. Naruto looked pointedly at the bird yet beady black eyes bored back, challenging the Hokage to say something.

"Want to go upstairs?"

Itachi-raven blinked but took off to the door, pausing to allow Naruto to open it. The blond left a note on Shizune's desk – in case the woman decided to come into work as she had offered to stay at home with Tsunade that morning – and followed the dark shape that was Itachi.

They climbed upwards and pushed open the door to reveal their utopia. So much had changed in the last twenty four hours yet the garden had merely swelled with life; a few flower buds had opened and some had collapsed back into the soil, allowing decay to take the and nourish some other plant. The continuous balance, the cycle that had started somewhere, and an area where they were able to share everything that was locked deep beneath their Shinobi names, their reputations and the faces they broadcasted to the public.

The pair returned to the small pool and the wired pagoda, sitting next to each other this time. Naruto's hands twitched and suddenly he was sitting on Itachi's lap, a firm look on his face, almost as though he had decided upon a path that would lead to his destruction.

The feeling of alarm grew as Naruto drew closer, lips touching gently. Itachi resisted the urge to kiss Naruto properly and was about to turn his head when Naruto captured Itachi's bottom lip between his teeth.

Itachi hissed in pain as Naruto bit down, drawing blood, and his mouth filled with the taste of blood as Naruto finally kissed him. Itachi felt blood slip onto his chin and he fought to keep his mouth still, ignoring Naruto's advances and wincing every now and then as the kiss began to turn a little onto the less innocent side.

It was a kiss that was unnatural; fumbling lips and shoddy tongue made the kiss desperate and undesired. Itachi knew it was Naruto's way of conveying his loss so he allowed the assault on his mouth to continue, swallowing as the mixture of blood and saliva slid to the back of his throat.

Naruto broke the connection for a second but then he was at Itachi's neck whilst fumbling for the zipped on the Uchiha's trousers. As much as he hated to do it, Itachi knew that this couldn't continue and stood sharply, not even bothering to reach his arms out as the blond fell backwards. One hand wiped the blood and spit from his mouth while its partner re-zipped his fly up.

"Naruto-"

"Don't you want me?"

Itachi's eyes softened at the boy sprawled on the floor, a complete look of dejection in his eyes. Naruto hadn't accepted that Itachi would feel emotions for him and instead assumed that Itachi was rejecting him because he simply didn't want him. Unknown to Naruto, Itachi knew that the blond was no mere possession to want and so he was content to wait until a mutual consent… not a fumble on metal wiring.

"It's not that, Naruto. You're hurting because someone close to you died but that's okay. Pain is a human emotion and you have to accept it to be fully human. Shutting out all emotions makes you worse than the Akatsuki…worse than what I used to be."

Itachi paused and his arms encircled Naruto's body, pulling him upwards and onto the Uchiha's lap. He smoothed Naruto's cloak and ran a hand through the blond tresses. In response, Naruto rested his head against Itachi's chest and closed his eyes, unbidden tears slipping through the close eyelids.

Itachi knew that this was what Naruto really wanted, a warm hold and someone to tell them that it was okay to feel exactly how he was feeling, that he wasn't an oddity to the world. Naruto had never grieved for someone who had died before, except for the Sandaime but Jiraiya had been so much closer to him.

To Naruto, who had never known a family, the loss of Sarutobi Hiruzen had been like the loss of a grandfather (knowing that they were going to die one day but never fully believing it, elating in the fact that he had gone down with a cause and so his death had been less harsh), Sasuke who was still like a brother to him, still obtainable because they could see each other still and Naruto still had the old promise… and Jiraiya. His God Father, the one who had trained him for over three years, the old man who had given so much and then… then the exuberance that he had emitted was gone.

Itachi knew he had to speak a little of his own experiences; if he wanted Naruto to be put at ease and for trust to deepen, he would have to stick his own neck out.

"When I was fighting Sasuke I wondered what would have happened if I took you up on your offer. With every blow I thought 'could my life really end up in that way? Could I be selfish for once?' the answer was no, of course… but I still wondered. Would I have lived as a Shinobi? Settled down for the sake of it and possible sired children… or would I have just wasted away and my name forgotten, just how it was supposed to be."

Blue eyes looked up in curiosity as Itachi paused. Itachi knew he had the Uzumaki's full attention and drew the silence out a little longer. Naruto clutched Itachi's cloak closer to him and shuffled, warmth rising as they sat together in the cooling heat of Konoha.

"My last thought was of you, Naruto… when Susanoo took the price he had settled for and my finger's left Sasuke's forehead, I didn't think of him at all. I know I should have but I thought of your face… how you looked so desperate to save me when you discovered the truth."

Itachi bent his neck a little to kiss the crown on Naruto's head. He needed to show Naruto that this was more than just sex, even though they hadn't done that yet, and that he needed Naruto because he was Naruto.

"Everything has it's time, Naruto, and I realised a lot of things when I died, some of them merely musings of thoughts and others were far more important. There was one thing they all had in common, though and I need you to know that all of them were linked to you or occurred because of you." Itachi paused before looking into deep, curious eyes and smiled softly.

"It hurts to lose someone, that goes without saying and the pain will never truly go away but you can help the pain ease with other emotions. There are stonger things than pain in this world, things that cause people to do crazy things and all for that one person who inspired those feelings. They last centuries even, written in dingy manuscripts or carved into stone."

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded sleepily, falling into the warmth of Itachi's embrace. He could feel the rise and fall of Itachi's chest and matched his own breathing to the man surrounding him, feeling utterly at ease. He was so far gone that, when he woke, he didn't remember Itachi's last words;

"Like love."

 **Astray**

 **away from that which is right; into error, confusion, or undesirable action or thought**

 **道に迷って**

Naruto sat calmly and nodded to Fukasaku's information. Everything was going well; they had a man-turned-frog to interrogate, one of Pein's bodies, Jiraiya's code to untangle and a slight idea of Pein's abilities. Which was, by all accounts, a thousand times better than knowing jack.

It was Naruto, of course, who noticed the difference where all others failed and even Shikamaru had been impressed to see his Hokage reach such a quick decision. Tsunade's eyes had softened slightly before her hand touched Naruto's shoulder gently. No one had commented on this touch, of course, but the fact that it had happened showed that there were so many supports between the pair.

Fukasaku and the tribe of frogs that were with him soon disappeared, all with a promise that they would be back in a few days. Naruto sat back in his chair and tilted his head up so he saw Tsunade's face upside down.

"Thanks for the tip about the garden."

A tiny smile graced Tsunade's mouth and Naruto returned the gesture. It was then that two things happened at once; Izumo burst in the door, breathing heavily and the Itachi-raven swooped gracefully into the room, wings clapping as he landed.

Both Naruto and Tsunade looked over to Izumo first; as a gatekeeper – of sorts – the Chuunin's news would be the most important.

"Scouts have reported a large group of Shinobi moving at a fast pace towards Konoha… Hokage-sama… s."

Naruto tried his hardest not to smile at the man's obvious confusion in regards to the addressal of both Godaime and Rokudaime. Tsunade hadn't mentioned it to Naruto yet but they both knew that there was no room in a Shinobi village for two rulers and the woman knew that she wouldn't be the one carrying on, no matter how much Naruto objected.

"Thank you Izumo-san. We shall be down at the gate in a short time… Shizune," the dark haired woman nodded at Naruto's call. "Would you find Shikamaru, Kiba, Neji and Sakura to meet the group?"

Shizune nodded and vanished at once to gather the group. She knew that Naruto wanted her to organise them to meet at the gate and so hurried in her task.

"Thank you Izumo, if you could return to the gate and, if anything happens, report immediately. Notify us at once if they are bringing hostile intents and bar entry to them unless they have full trust and authority to Konoha."

Izumo saluted with a grin on his face and vanished out of the door. Two sets of eyes fell onto Itachi's bird body and waited patiently for the man to shift into a human form. As expected it wasn't long before a cloaked Itachi perched on the edge of the desk, a new wariness in his eyes.

"Pein and Kisame are moving towards Konoha. They are a few days away, yet they will be here within the week… though they do not look as if they will cause a threat, there is reason to believe that they are here to test Konoha's defences. As I said, they do not seem to be taking the offence, shown by the lack of Madara. I personally believe they are on a pre-mission scout, having done it myself before. All it includes is taking in the general situation and how far they can pursue at that particular time."

Tsunade started at the name of Madara and looked fearfully down at Naruto. The blond man, being slightly in front of Tsunade, did not notice the look yet Itachi caught it and questioned her upon it.

"It's just something that Konan said… she told me to keep Naruto away from M-Madara. I did not question it then and I doubt I will now but my grandfather obviously falsely believed the threat was abolished… how much longer are we going to have to clean up for past mistakes?"

Itachi's expression darkened and Naruto sat up stiffly, looking at Itachi in alarm; neither knew how much they would be allowed to reveal now. It was obviously a warning from Konan, a warning to keep Naruto as far away from the source of danger as possible, yet this was asking the impossible. Even if Naruto himself promised to stay away from Madara (and therefore committing treason to Konoha as Madara would come at some point) there was the Kyuubi to figure into the equation. There was no way that the ancient fox would let go of something so close to being within a reasonable distance.

"So we can conclude that they are probably scouting, maybe a few small scale attacks to see how Konoha has suffered in the 'absence' of its Hokage. Speaking of which we need to notify the Kages of the other countries once this has blown over a little, before the true battle start. It could have some repercussions if they aren't told; we need to think of how trustworthy Konoha will seem and how this will affect our alliances. That said I also need to speak to Gaara soon… how many members of the Akatsuki should be left now?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow at the sudden switching of questions and thought back,

"I would say that there are only four members of the original group I was part of. If Sasuke has joined then… probably he would have taken his team and so I would say around eight members. Madara, Pein, Zetsu, Kisame, Sasuke, Suigetsu, Juugo and Karin."

Itachi shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the bright haired female and Naruto looked at the man in amusement. This Karin must really be something to invoke such an emotion in Uchiha Itachi.

"Would the leader recruit any more in a short space of time?"

Itachi turned dark eyes to the speaker.

"Madara didn't like to do things last minute… not things that weren't in his plan anyway. He knows that he needs to manipulate people into the Akatsuki in order to make sure they are loyal if they do not join of their own accord. It's not Shinobi that Madara needs though; there are only two tailed beasts left, the Hachibi and Kyuubi. If my guess is correct then someone, probably Sasuke and his group, are out 'collecting' the other Bijuu."

Tsunade sighed and rubbed her temples. Her eyes were surrounded by a slight darker tone and her complexion was pale.

"I'm too old for this…"

Naruto looked at her with an excited expression on her face. Tsunade frowned and Naruto grinned before speaking,

"Does this mean we get to see you at your true age?"

Yet she was not old enough to not hit Naruto if he needed it. Which he did.

The door burst open again and the people in the room froze as Izumo raced back in, out of breath. Itachi was holding his breath, as was Naruto, and Tsunade's eyes flickered in worry.

"It's Kaz-Kazekage… sama," the man panted before placing his hands on his knees and bending over. Naruto's expression brightened and the tension in the room eased slightly.

"Gaara? As in Sabaku no Gaara… well fuc-"

"Naruto," Tsunade's voice cut in sternly and Naruto half heartedly glared at her.

"When will they be here?"

Izumo looked at Naruto with a slight smile; he knew how devoted to each other the Kazekage and the latest Hokage were and it was no surprise that the blond man was this anxious to see the red haired male.

"They'll be here in roughly five minutes, Hokage-sama."

Naruto frowned yet still had a smile upon his face. "It's just Naruto, Izumo, you know that. Shall we go back down and greet our guest in person then?"

 **道に迷って**

In all honesty, Sasuke wanted to get right to the mission but – no – Suigetsu had insisted that they rested at night in a hotel-cum-tavern. If it wasn't for the fact that travellers and citizens of the Lightning country (both Shinobi and civilian) came here, as it was rather a popular place, then Sasuke would have blankly refused.

As much as it dented his pride to admit, he knew they had to rest. If they were to find the whereabouts of the eight tailed beasts' host then they needed all the rest and help they could get. If somewhere didn't want their Jinchuuriki to be discovered then they would be well hidden.

Of course, not well enough to deter Sasuke.

The noise of the bar was loud and Sasuke frowned as Suigetsu came over with three drinks; two beers and some form of cocktail. Juugo had already gone up to his room, not trusting to control himself in these conditions, yet the other had decided to remain and see what they could find out from the drunken bar frequenters.

"Sasuke-kun, I was wondering if you-"

Suigetsu scoffed and Karin immediately rounded on him. In a way, Karin reminded him of Sakura – the old Genin Sakura for she had grown up now – in the way that she was so possessive over him and only wanted his attention for herself.

"Karin," he muttered and only just held back the Sharingan as he noticed the woman's – girl's – pathetic adoration. "Be quiet. We're not here for a social occasion."

As the evening wore on, Sasuke realised that they weren't getting anywhere. Karin had carried on staring at him and frequently sighing lightly. Suigetsu had been ordering more and more drinks and was now so far gone that the Uchiha merely wished he would fuck off to his room and sleep it off.

"… and all the restrictions on that village at the moment, blimey!"

Sasuke tuned into the nearest conversation in effort to wallow away the time. He hadn't touched the beverage before him, the same one that Suigetsu had ordered when they first sat down.

"Yeah but Namikaze-sama makes a brilliant Kage. You should've seen the ceremony he had… I've never seen so many people cheering, not even at the Legendary Sucker's inauguration."

Sasuke frowned; he knew the Legendary Sucker, Tsunade, to be the Godaime Hokage. Had Konoha elected a new Hokage…? But then again who was this Namikaze character.

"Keep your voice down, idiot, you know about the Namikaze name round here… the village is still sore about the damage that one guy did in the war."

A slop indicated that a drink had been spilt and a curse word was uttered as they called over a waitress from the bar.

"Yeah but I signed the paper." The man sighed and took a long draught of his drink. "You know, the one where if you go against the rules you face punishment automatically. Even if it's just a fake rule I'm not going to be the one risking my life… I have kids back in Konoha."

The pair of men – Sasuke had glanced behind him – sat in silence before the other spoke.

"Why would they keep something like that secret though?"

The other man chuckled deeply before replying, "It would most likely start a war. Namikaze-sama is well known whether or not you realise it. He will make an amazing Hokage though; I can sleep safely at night when I'm away from my family now that I know the village is in the best hands possible."

Sasuke stood from the table at that point and the men behind him fell silent. He had no more attachments to that village and so why would he care if Namikaze-sama was Hokage? He didn't know anything about the guy excepting the fact that he – or his clan – were hated in this land and that he was a good leader.

Madara would want to know but that would have to wait; they had a Jinchuuriki to catch and he had just noticed someone mentioning a connection between the Yotsuki Clan and the holder.

 **道に迷って**

Naruto was shifting his weight uneasily from foot to foot as the group appeared. He could see the Konoha group he had sent out with them and relaxed a little. He honestly couldn't wait to see Gaara again yet he knew how the man would react. Gaara would be a little upset at the sudden coronation of Naruto, and would most likely demand a private answer to the mystery.

"Hokage-sama," were the first words out of Gaara's mouth and Naruto replied, "Kazekage-sama."

The tension between them was suddenly broken as Naruto practically launched himself towards the smaller male and wrapped his arms tightly around the body. It had been too long since he had seem the younger Kage and he was genuinely excited and pleased to see him.

"It's so good to see you Gaara."

"You too, Naruto. I would have announced we were coming but there was no time."

Naruto smiled and the pair dismissed their followers. They chatted together in a peaceful harmony, discussing personal changed in their life since they had last met.

Naruto took Gaara to his office; Itachi-raven would be there but Tsunade had gone with Shizune to begin the autopsy on Pein's body. They had scheduled a time in the upcoming weeks for a memorial date for both Jiraiya and Konan. Although it would be an official affair, a small group – namely the people who had been at Naruto's house for dinner – would be holding their own for both.

"Come on in and get settled down. Tea or anything? I'll get a Chuunin to run off while we talk, which I'm sure we have much of coming up. I assume there are a few political reasons behind the visit and, even though I am not much of a politician myself, I know you won't be one to pull wool over my eyes. I can trust you."

Gaara inclined his head and Naruto noticed that his body was held tighter, eyes scanning the room. Naruto cocked his head yet Gaara just narrowed his eyes even more before locking on the raven. Naruto finally understood and was about to speak when a dart of sand flew towards the bird.

"Gaara! No, don't!"

"You don't understand, Naruto," Gaara said as sand began to follow the bird as it somersaulted through the maze of deadly sand. "That is no ordinary raven; it's a member of the Akatsuki."

"Gaara, I know but-"

"Of course you know, so you cannot expect me to-"Gaara stopped and sand fell to the floor, eyes piercing and alert."You know?"

Naruto rolled his eyes at the disbelieving tone yet nodded and held his arm out for Itachi to land on. The raven did as asked and he stroked the birds head. Naruto muttered something to the bird and Gaara watched as the bird landed on the desk and morphed elegantly into a cloaked figure.

It was expected; Gaara was not only a Kage and a man trained for any hint of danger (already he had numerous failed assassination attempt on him, all from when he was a child) but he was Naruto's friend, someone who would fight through thick and thin for Naruto… just as he would for Gaara's safety.

"You mustn't tell anyone, Gaara." Gaara inclined his head and watched in fascination as the hood came down to reveal Uchiha Itachi. Disbelief and anger welled in his eyes but there was no slight hint of betrayal, something Naruto both expected and was relieved at.

"I thought you were dead?"

Itachi looked at Gaara emotionlessly, "Appearances can be deceiving, Kazekage-sama, as I am sure you are aware. This may not sound like much but I hope you can forgive me for taking part in the extraction of your Bijuu."

Gaara's eyes narrowed and his jaw tightened. The sealing had repercussions, it was obvious, and Itachi was genuinely sorry for the part he had played… but Konoha would have been in greater danger if he had not acted his part to the fullest and what was one person for a nation? He was sorry that it had had to have happened to this man, not that he took part in it, and Gaara knew that. It was plain to see in the Sharingan-less eyes of Itachi.

"You know that I feel every time one of you comes close to Suna? I can sense your chakra as easily as Shukaku could to other Bijuu; it's like second nature to me. I don't need your forgiveness, Uchiha, I am quite capable of living my life without that on my shoulders."

Naruto coughed lightly and Gaara turned to him, ignoring Itachi's presence completely.

"I won't reveal anything to you."

"I knew that, you have your reasons why he is here and I have no choice but to accept them. I can only hope to the gods that your judgement is correct, Naruto, I really do."

Naruto's mouth twisted at the way Gaara addressed Itachi yet he didn't know why. Maybe he needed to analyse his emotions again… good idea but save it till later.

"Suna will help." Naruto looked up in questioning and Gaara continued.

"War is inevitable, even I know that. Suna will help Konoha when they come, I won't let them get to their last Jinchuuriki, our last hope, easily. I would have led the Wind country against the Akatsuki before you became Hokage, Naruto."

Naruto sat down on his chair and rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn't even thought about an alliance for the war but was thankful Gaara didn't hold Itachi against him. Maybe it was an action bred from being a Jinchuuriki; grudges were useless when you would have to bear them against everyone and, unless you learned to let go, a dark shadow would cultivate on this anger, this loathing, and consume you… almost as it had to Gaara.

"You flatter me so, Gaara-sama… tell me, do all Kages gain that pattern of speech? The way you sound as though you are an ancient battle scared tribesman… I love it Gaara."

The red head shook his head and muttered something to himself before taking the seat in front of Naruto's desk. Even if Naruto had faced a thousand wars, the Kazekage knew he would always have this cheerful disposition. It was part of Naruto and now part of Konoha.

"When I return I will get something drawn up for us as you are no doubt busy." Naruto nodded to this statement and inclined his head to a medium sized pile of mission reports that he had yet to wade through.

"I also heard about Jiraiya-sama. I know he meant a lot to you and if I can be of any help then just ask."

Naruto nodded his head gratefully before speaking, "There's always paperwork to be done."

Gaara glared at him weakly before lapsing into a comfortable silence and watching the sun climb higher and higher over Konohagakure.

Unnoticed, Itachi slipped out through the window and headed over the forests of Konoha, seeking out the two persons the other ravens had mentioned. If it was true – and it most likely was – Itachi knew that Naruto had to get out of Konoha. They were simply not ready for war yet and if Madara found out about Namikaze Naruto being Hokage, he would no doubt attack Konoha will full force.

 **道に迷って**

Sasuke stared apathetically at the huge man in front of them. He had never seen a Jinchuuriki other than Naruto – at least not one who seemed content with himself, Gaara struggled with his burden – before, yet he couldn't deny that both this one and Naruto had the same self confidence that struck through him. It hit him then…

These people, these Jinchuuriki, were sacrifices. The name that had been given to them even said that and yet the people who were burdened with the task of carrying a Bijuu never saw themselves as sufferers. Some of them coped with the task in different ways, such as taking out the anger and injustice they felt on innocents, but never suffering with the burden. Gaara had suffered for other reasons, and used the Tanuki inside of him to unleash the hatred on others, a different reason altogether.

"Are you the Jinchuuriki of the Hachibi?"

The man chuckled deeply and inclined his head, a smile toying with his features.

"That's Mr. Eight-Tailed Beast and Mr. Host to you."

Sasuke's eyes hardened; there it was again, the same spirit that Naruto possessed. Were these people naturally like this or did this quality come of having a tremendous burden placed upon you?

"I'm going to take you captive."

Sasuke was clear to use the use of I rather than we. As they had been in Hebi, Falcon were just people who were there for back up. Sasuke did acknowledge their strength – or else he would never have chosen them in the first place – they would never be his team, his equals. He had had a team before and he didn't need one, didn't really need one back then as it would have been more beneficial to be alone, but a small part of him insisted that it wasn't so much he didn't need a team but that he didn't want another team to replace Team Seven. The small part was crushed a little later with a feral snarl.

Orders were given and Suigetsu charged in first. In all honesty Sasuke didn't think that this would be the way to win against such a highly tailed beast and a host that was clearly confident in his abilities. It was a measure to lengthen out the time so that Sasuke could find out the extent of his Mangekyou, the Mangekyou that-

He forced his mind to stop there before he begun to dwell on the past. Flickers of Itachi's face showed every now and again yet the youngest Uchiha tried his hardest to black all thought of his brother from his mind. That part of his life was a closed book; Sasuke was living for here and now; past be damned.

As a huge cloud erupted where Suigetsu had moved against the Jinchuuriki, Sasuke could hear Karin and Juugo talking. He heard their words yet didn't react; the skills that Itachi had given him (no, his mind said, the skills that he had won – stolen – from Itachi as he had died) were itching to be used and his hand twitched slightly within the folds of his robe.

Power was never a foreign concept to Sasuke; from the first time he had actively used chakra, and even seen it performed as a very small child and his father hovering in the hallway. Power was a conquest to Sasuke and he would relish in it until the end of time. Uchiha's were always drawn to power, that much he could gather from Madara's obsession with the Kyuubi no Kitsune and Konoha (which was undeniable one of the most powerful villages in the land, if not the most powerful).

If Uzumaki Naruto could see him now, see how far his betrayal had extended. Not that Sasuke cared, it was obvious that Naruto wasn't the closest person to him; after all he had gained the Mangekyou only after Itachi had died, not Naruto. And, as far as Sasuke knew, the Mangekyou could only be passed on if you killed the closest person… not like the Amaterasu had been passed on.

For a brief moment, Sasuke reflected on the name of the Jutsu. Named after the Sun deity it was a suitable name for such a destructive, beautiful and powerful fire Jutsu. If the gods were real and approachable by mere ningen then Sasuke would be forced to believe that the deity herself had a part to play. If that was the case then maybe he should honour her wishes and use the Jutsu… if only he could harness is power without Madara being around.

That was the only drawback to his strength; before, Itachi had been the one to control him and now it was Madara. Sasuke wasn't stupid and he knew very well that Madara thought him to be putty in his old hands, but what he didn't know was that Sasuke had learnt more from Orochimaru in those respects. Living in the same place as the man had taught Sasuke reserves and his mind had bent like a snake's, a double-sabre fang lined with poison and ready to attack the most unsuspecting. Madara wouldn't expect him to strike, if he did at all that was, but Sasuke would place his own life above Madara's.

For the moment, at least. If he could bring himself to trust the man then maybe…

The Jinchuuriki, human sacrifice, spoke once more and Sasuke knew it was an arrogant statement. Was this man really so confident that he was untouchable, that his Bijuu wouldn't allow him to lose? Because that was all it was, really, no matter how powerful the container was it was what was inside that mattered, and no one could truly congratulate, trust or respect someone when they had something like that inside of them. That was why Naruto's dream was impossible; a Kage could never be a Jinchuuriki.

And they always said, never judge a book by its cover. The people who housed the Bijuu were containers, they knew that. The power, essence of who they were, came from inside and what so happened to be inside? A huge creature made of chakra. Naruto had used the Kyuubi enough, even so that he naturally healed. If they had been with the beast from birth then it was a true assumption to say characteristics were passed on… and if characteristics were passed on then why not other things? Mentality, for example, revenge, anger, hatred.

Aah, but what about Gaara? The psychopathic kid from the Chuunin exams who Naruto, Naruto, had beaten when Sasuke couldn't. Of course Sasuke now knew the reason why Naruto had won; the Kyuubi. A lucky fluke to be born on the day that the Kyuubi was attacking… he supposed that Naruto was just there at the right time – or the wrong time, depending on how you looked at it – and that was that. Though to have been held by the Yondaime Hokage wasn't a bad moment to be condemned to a fate restricted to nine persons at a time, and Sasuke openly admitted he respected the Yondaime.

Who couldn't when the man had brought the Kyuubi to its very knees? Madara admitted he respected the Yondaime somewhat as he had been able to make up a complete seal under conditions set by a beast and install it on a child, condemning the child for its life.

And Sasuke really wasn't sure what part Madara respected more; the bit where the Yondaime had the power or the part where he had drove an incriminating sentence on a child less than a few hours born.

If Sasuke had to admit, he respected the man but also recognised him as a monster. It was the same for any human who could turn around and seal something that powerful into a baby or someone who could murder his family when-

And that was in the past.

But wasn't it that not all of the Jinchuuriki had been condoned, or so Madara had told him before they left. There had been one he had spoken of, Nii Yugito was the name of the Nibi no Nekomata's sacrifice. The Cloud had seen her as a hero, taking upon the weight of the Bijuu alone and doing her duty for the village she presumably loved, and ended up stone cold dead for.

Then again she had been in a somewhat harmony with the beast, both working together to protect Kumo and make an attempt at avoiding Hidan and Kakuzu. Not that it had worked, and how had Kumo thanked her? Certainly not by setting off after her like Konoha had for Gaara.

What a pitiful existence, to live a whole life scared that you could be captured at any moment, and then have no one coming to rescue you. It was assumed that Shinobi would protect their own and that was installed scrupulously in Konoha, maybe not so much for Kumo.

Would anyone go after Naruto?

Of course they would. Naruto was loved in Konoha… to an extent anyway. He was the one they adored, scorned, and still insisted he would be Hokage. It was a pipe dream, a childish fantasy and Sasuke wanted Naruto to wake up, understand the real world and the harsh, bitter taint it carried.

Sasuke's dark eyes took in the position of their target; he was leaning – lounging really – against Zabuza's, Suigetsu's, cleaver, almost as if he was merely watching some sort of play or theatrical performance. It was a mocking gesture, showing the group that he was so much more powerful, he held the keys in his hands and wouldn't go down without a fight.

And the worst part? He began to sing, chant, rap, whatever it was it was embarrassing as hell. Seriously who did this man think he was? To just stand there and have such self confidence… it was truly unreal. It was disgustingly mocking; each Jinchuuriki had their own personality to deal with outsider attacks. Gaara had chosen to protect his village and sacrificed himself (again), Naruto charged head-on into the battle, a death threat on his lips and a smile in his eyes and this fool, this creature, sang with confidence, mocking the people who were to bring him down to his knees.

Sasuke couldn't wait to sink his teeth into this one; boy was this going to be so much fun.

 **Warning**

 **the act or utterance of one who warns or the existence, appearance, sound, etc., of a thing that warns**

 **警告**

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment as he pushed the last of the paper work away from him and sighed heavily. A meeting between Gaara, himself and, by proxy, Itachi was to commence within a few hours yet the Hokage didn't know if he had the energy to go through with such a thing. He was also scheduled to have a meeting with the current Jounin instructors of both Genin and Chuunin teams and he knew that that one would drag on far longer than necessary. The only problem was that he had delayed such meetings for a long time now and so had to face the acceptable consequences.

The arrival of Itachi somewhat startled him; the bird had left the day before and hadn't returned since. Itachi-raven wasn't in the best of conditions; he had leaves in his feathers and his wings drooped slightly, as if he had been using them for a long time.

"Itachi? Are you alright?"

The raven cawed once and Naruto sighed.

"I don't understand raven-speech, Itachi."

The raven shuffled and slowly morphed into the human form that Naruto was so fond of. Itachi shifted slightly, stumbling off of his usual place at the side of the desk. Naruto stood up, scraping the chair back in slight alarm.

"Itachi…?"

The man looked up and smiled,

"I'm okay Naruto… a little worn out but nothing to worry about."

Naruto nodded slowly and sat back down. He trusted Itachi well enough to know his limits, even if the man had been somewhat strategically reckless with his life before. Itachi didn't sit back on the desk but leant against it slightly as he spoke.

"Pein and Kisame are a few days away from Konoha. Naruto I want you to listen to what Tsunade said about keeping Madara away from you. I know that a meeting between the two of you will be inevitable but we can't let the knowledge that you are Hokage escape… just yet."

Naruto's eyes were burning as he looked at Itachi.

"So I am to run like a dog with its tail between its legs? I am the Hokage, Itachi; I cannot just simply abandon my village! What you are suggesting is preposterous… in fact I can't believe that you are suggesting that."

Itachi pushed his weight off of the table and took the cloak off completely. Naruto noted that Itachi's skin was pale, almost as if he was a corpse. The light outside, shaded somewhat by the blinds that were half heartedly drooped closed, threw parallel lines across Itachi's face and Naruto knew, in that instant, why Itachi was feared so much amongst the Shinobi community.

Power was attractive; the more power one had then supposedly the more influence and higher one was in society. Itachi was certainly well-know, to the point of abandon-on-sight orders and anyone who called him unattractive would be a simple idiot.

What many people didn't quite realise, however, was the sheer influence power could play into a normal Shinobi. If the Shinobi in question held himself with the beauty and cold nobility literally shredded into Itachi then Naruto was sure he could win every war thrown his way just by massing his army to look at the enemy.

"What you don't seem to understand, Naruto-sama, is that if Madara gets the Kyuubi then it's game over. If he gets that fox then there might as well not be a Hokage, for if he gets it – and at this rate he will – then everything crumbles, including Konoha. You don't understand what power he wants to unleash… I have seen it, felt it, craved it and despised it at the same time. He wants something that can destroy whole nations and I will not let him get you."

Naruto bowed his head slightly and bit his lip. He understood Itachi but what he was suggesting went against everything Naruto had told himself, everything that had led to him relentlessly battling the Akatsuki and his supposed title of 'Demon'.

"I know where you're coming from, Itachi, I really do," he began softly, "but I am the Hokage. I can't just sit back and watch-"

"Damn it Naruto!" Itachi had his back turned to Naruto yet his hand hovered against the closest wall to the desk. A bang had cut off Naruto's words and a dent in the wall told him that Itachi had slammed his fist into the wall, blood trickling slowly down the pale knuckles. Naruto remained silent and waited for Itachi to continue; the Uchiha wasn't one to go off into emotional outburst unless he had a valid reason.

"Can't you see that I care for you!" Itachi dropped the hand from the wall, leaving a few droplets of blood on the carpeted floor. Naruto was struck by the shimmering droplets, remembering the time when a puddle of crimson had been collected in the dip in Itachi's hand, a dip he never wanted to see full again.

Itachi dropped his voice before continuing, "I don't want to lose you Naruto… you're… you're all I have left that's worth living for. The only person who means a damn thing."

Naruto moved round the desk quietly and took hold of Itachi's hand. Just like before, the Kyuubi's chakra willingly seeped from Naruto's palm and he gently moved it, healing the Uchiha's shattered hand. He knew that at least a couple of the bones were shattered because Naruto had once hit a tree unguardedly and that had hurt like hell.

The bones had healed yet Naruto didn't allow the red chakra to recede back; he calmed it with part of his own chakra and began to rub circles into Itachi's hand with his thumbs. Under his touch, Naruto felt Itachi relax slightly and a soft smile found its way onto the blonde's face. Itachi meant so much to him without him ever realising, and now Itachi had shown how much he cared, maybe Naruto could too.

"Thank you for caring about me, Itachi," he began softly, moving his chakra coated hands up Itachi's arm. "It's a new thing to me and sometimes I forget what having someone so close to you is like… and believe me Itachi, you're the closest anyone will become." Naruto paused and the chakra receded, leaving Naruto's hands warm and pressed against Itachi's face in an attempt to get the man to look up at him.

"I can't just leave Konoha to Madara's onslaught. What kind of Hokage would I be then? Certainly not fit to have myself carved into that mountain, that's for sure."

Itachi shifted and finally looked Naruto in the eye. Naruto had never fully looked Itachi dead in the eye, not this close, yet he found himself mesmerised by Itachi's dark eyes. The way that his eyelashes framed the orbs gave off a feminine quality but there was so much hidden emotion in the coloured irises that anyone else would flinch. Naruto merely leant up a little and joined his lips to Itachi's eyelids, knowing that the man was human.

As his lips graced the thin skin, he felt Itachi's eyeball flutter in its socket, no doubt relocating to stare directly through the skin to Naruto. The dual lines of eyelashes tickled Naruto's chin yet he pulled away slowly, focusing on Itachi's soul with a smile.

"A Hokage must always make hard decisions Naruto…"

Naruto lowered himself back onto the soles of his feet and sighed lightly. His hands moved down Itachi's arms and he forcibly took the forearm, wrapping the appendages around his body so that Itachi was – in effect – cuddling him.

"I know and I'm sorry but I cannot just ignore threats. I don't want to run, I'm sick of running after Sasuke and now it's my turn. Can you understand that?"

Itachi pressed his arms tightly against Naruto's body and dug his face into Naruto's hair. Naruto smiled into the black cloth of Itachi's top and held the man equally as tight. They remained like that until a few minutes later when Shizune coughed lightly, pink colouring lightly staining her cheeks.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Naruto-kun, Itachi-san, but Tsunade wanted to know if now would be an appropriate time to discuss something that Fukasaku-san suggested before he left."

The men broke apart and Itachi walked over to his cloak, donning it in one smooth movement. He walked quietly back to Naruto side, pulling the hood up as he did so. Together, following Shizune, they walked out of the room and Itachi felt a brush against his hand as Naruto slipped his fingers under the material to intertwine the digits with Itachi's.

Although the hood hid his features, Itachi smiled and, by the way Naruto squeezed his hand, he guessed that Naruto could tell. It was an odd connection; a connection that was new and fresh yet enabled the pair to act as if they had been around each other for years.

They arrived shortly at the office that Tsunade had taken to, after surrendering her own to Naruto, and Shizune knocked on the door. It was followed with a 'come in' and they entered, Naruto never once letting go of the Uchiha's hand.

"I wanted to talk to you about what both Konan and Itachi have suggested… Konan wished to keep you away from Madara, telling me that she explicitly wished that, and Itachi tells us that Madara is sending his goons in the next couple of days. We have greater issues at hand, but I feel that this has to be the only cause of option as the negatives far outweigh the positives. Normally I would be objected to doing something like this but it appears there is no other option."

Naruto held his breath, hoping that Tsunade would not say what she was about to,

"You cannot stay here. More correctly, you cannot be here when Pein and Kisame show up… I'm sure Itachi has mentioned this somewhat." Naruto opened his mouth to protest yet Tsunade held up and hand and he was silenced.

"Let me finish. As I said, I wouldn't normally agree with such methods but we need to keep Madara in the dark about you. We can pretend that the Hokage seat was empty or held by the Advisors while I was in Amegakure."

Tsunade stood up from her chair, a letter in her hand.

"For you, however, we have a different plan. Naruto, Fukasaku has said that he wants you to train at Myobokuzan in the Sage arts."

Naruto perked his head up and his eyes widened.

"Sage arts?"

Tsunade inclined her head and a smile was in place on her face, the first true smile since she had returned from the Rain. Itachi squeezed Naruto's hand and Shizune smiled as well.

"Fukasaku said he would return in three days to hear your answer… you can decide then whether or not to accept his proposal but I would strongly advise it. I will look after Konoha if you decide to go and I'm sure Itachi would be able to help me."

Itachi inclined his head and Naruto looked between the pair,

"Itachi wouldn't come with me?"

The two females in the room exchanged a glance before Tsunade spoke.

"For one, only people with the Summoning contract can go to Myobokuzan. And another, Itachi will be needed here in case of emergency."

Itachi nodded his head once again and Naruto glanced between then, gripping onto Itachi's hand a little tighter. He knew it was selfish to wish for this but he had just acknowledged his feelings for Itachi properly, the Uchiha in return too, and he didn't want to lose the man just yet.

"Animals are allowed though… if Itachi went as a raven then he could come with me-"

"It is fine, Naruto. I am to remain here under the Godaime Hokage's wishes in the event that Kisame and Pein do turn on the affront. As I was partnered with Kisame, I will be able to instruct on how to approach him whilst fighting against Pein. If such an event occurs, of course."

Naruto sighed heavily before taking the letter that Tsunade held out for him. He scanned it – it was an overview of what Tsunade had already told him – and pocketed it, finally dropping Itachi's hand. Itachi made no move to grasp on and Naruto wasn't sure whether to be grateful of this or relieved.

"I'm going to return to my office…I shall give you my answer after the meeting with Gaara and then the Jounin meeting."

It wasn't that Naruto was opposed to the idea that had been presented to him; it was just that leaving Konoha - especially once he had become Hokage - was never something he had considered. As a Hokage it was his duty to protect Konoha, be there for her, but would this be seen as running away? They had a Godaime after all. He needed to be stronger to fight Pein but why did it have to include turning his back on the village?

Tsunade nodded and watched Naruto leave the room. She knew he was exactly like Minato; both of them would never leave Konoha and Naruto would see this as running, even if it wasn't.

Itachi exited the room and Tsunade smiled wearily at Shizune.

"I'm glad they found each other."

Shizune nodded yet her eyes were sad. Without asking why – for Tsunade knew the reason and her own eyes held the same sorrow – the Hokage turned her eyes down to Fukasaku's other letter, the one warning her that a relationship between Naruto and Uchiha Itachi (Tsunade had confided in the Sage on this) would lead to their own destruction and the possible destruction of the world around them.

Yet how was she supposed to tell Naruto that Itachi would refuse him in his hour of need? She knew that Itachi would, even Shizune knew it and the woman didn't know the man as thoroughly as Tsunade did. It was a fact as simple as stating that grass was green, or that you can't touch the sky; a fact of life.

"Will Itachi choose differently?"

Tsunade looked into Shizune's eyes and closed her eyes wearily.

"For Naruto's sake I hope so, but it's engraved deep into Itachi's being… when the time comes he will choose, and we can only hope to the Deities that Itachi will choose salvation rather than destruction."

Shizune nodded sadly, her eyes looking at the floor. Silence, once again, consumed the room as both women were left to ponder the future that rested upon Naruto and Itachi's shoulders.

 **警告**

If Itachi had been alive then Pein most likely would have found a new glory in the man, more than just for his skills as a ninja. As it was, Itachi was dead and so he found himself respecting the man in a way. A way in which one could only understand if Hoshigaki Kisame was your partner.

For the past two days – two days – the man had been a constant annoyance. It wasn't so much the talking (Pein had phased that out twenty nine hours and nineteen minutes ago) but the constant movement the man made. The pitch of his voice was set to 'whine' and his body language was droopy and uncooperative.

"Can't we just stop? I swear I'm going to kill Itachi's brother one day… taking away Itachi. He would have let me stop. Do you even understand the language I'm speaking in? It wouldn't surprise me if you'd died while we were walking or something."

Pein rolled his eyes and looked to the other five bodies around him. Each of them was young and even though he could have used the Sannin Jiraiya's body, there was little use in it. It was an old body and a God should be glorified and youthful. Konan's body, however, was untainted, even if it was female. There was nothing wrong with the female body, it was just his chakra struggled to adapt to the changes a woman brought about.

"If you wish to keep your arms in their rightful sockets, Hoshigaki, then I suggest you silence yourself."

Kisame eyed the orange haired male – the one next to him at least – and smirked into his hood.

"You know Mizukage-sama… Madara wouldn't allow that. He'd have your head if we lost another member, even with that new team our numbers are still down… though I'd still like to do a number on Sasuke. Itachi… now there was a good partner. He used to let me rest, unlike certain people," here Kisame glared daggers at Pein yet the Rinnegan user didn't bat an eyelid.

"We need to get to Konoha in uttermost secrecy, Hoshigaki, even if that means not stopping. If we stop now we delay the time it takes to get there and then are late in reporting back to Madara. If possible, I want to get back before Falcon do."

Kisame sighed dejectedly before whining once again, "You don't have to carry a fucking sword on your back though do you?"

Pein looked around at the tall man and sighed.

"I have six bodies. That means that I feel all effects of the six. You work it out."

Kisame scrunched his face up as if he was – and he probably was- working out what Pein was trying to say.

"I mean that my energy is split into six," not counting chakra Pein added silently, "so I should be suffering more than you."

Kisame shrugged and looked around him.

"Will it really take three days to get there?"

"I have allowed a night's rest within those three days. Does that satisfy you? We want to enter slowly into the province that Konohagakure has power over so we are not noticed immediately. In the event that Shinobi discover us we either kill them or retreat, depending on what I see fit."

Kisame nodded thoughtfully and Pein was thankful that the man had finally shut his mouth.

"You know one thing that Itachi never did with me?"

Pein dreaded the next words. He did not need to know that Kisame had made sexual passes, requested to dress up as women, pranced about on a stage singing his fishy heart out or whatever odd request was going to spew forth from his lips.

"He never played games. I'll go first, I spy with my little eye, something beginning with… T!"

Pein shuddered and glanced around; maybe he would shut up if he humoured him a bit. It could have been a lot worse, though, and he was glad that Kisame had most definitely not come onto him.

"Tree." Oh god… now one of his 'paths' had joined in.

It was then that Pein decided that he respected Itachi the most out of the Akatsuki deceased. A lot more than the others. He also came to the conclusion that somehow he must have died and gone to hell because there was no way that-

"Do you see them?"

Pein followed Kisame's trail of eyesight and saw a murder of crows, circling them. Pein narrowed his eyes and followed one bird, the largest one.

"What do you think they're doing? I noticed them a while back so they must have been following us."

Pein shook his head a little and ordered one of his 'paths' to fire off a Kunai into the murder. They performed his request and they watched as the circle split, birds diverging to the sky around them.

"Nothing more than birds, Kisame."

As Pein walked on, Kisame looked up to see one bird, circling singularly over him. There was only one person who would have done something like that, and he was dead… was this bird drawn to him because of his former partner or…?

Yet if Kisame continued these thoughts he would most likely be labelled a traitor and he was most definitely not a traitor. Even if this bird was some relic of Itachi's, the man was six feet under and not coming back.

With this thought in mind, Kisame shifted Samehada a little higher on his back and walked slowly after Pein. The bird darted forwards and a thought crossed Kisame's mind;

What if the bird was a spy?

He almost chuckled. Then so be it, he was up for a good fight anyway.

 **警告**

Naruto looked out the window and sighed; it had already been along day and he was still booked in for two meetings.

"Itachi, should I reschedule the Jounin meeting for tomorrow? I think that the meeting with Gaara will take a lot out of me so…"

Itachi-raven cawed and Naruto sighed.

"I know, I can't speak raven or whatever. Juts humour me, flap wings for yes and dip your beak for no."

Itachi's wings flapped open and Naruto called Shizune in, the matter apparently handled.

"Can I reschedule the Jounin meeting for tomorrow?" The dark haired woman patted Itachi's head gently and nodded.

"Of course. When Gaara-sama gets here shall I just send him in?" Naruto nodded and Shizune stepped out of the door and closed it softly.

The raven squawked and Naruto frowned.

"You don't want to be here when Gaara gets here do you?" Itachi-raven dipped his beak and Naruto sighed, "You can go back home and get that rest you need. I'll meet you back there."

Itachi took off and Naruto watched him leave. A creak announced Gaara's entry into the room and Naruto turned to him with a weary expression on his face.

"I shall be leaving tomorrow, Naruto." The Hokage nodded his head and gestured for the sand user to sit down, running a hand over his face.

"No Uchiha today?"

"He's not as guilty as he wants you to believe, Gaara, just allow him a little respect. He's a man who continues to have very little in life whilst sacrificing everything."

Gaara inclined his head a little but remained silent. They weren't here to discuss Itachi, no matter how delicate the situation was. Naruto knew that Gaara didn't hold it against him, Gaara trusted Naruto and Naruto reciprocated this trust in a bond stronger than what appeared, but there was no need to bring up events that could, potentially, cause painful memories to surface.

"In the winter I shall visit Konoha and in the summer you will visit Suna. These are not just formalities to keep up out bond but social gatherings and I expect you to bring some form of alcohol. It shouldn't be that hard." Naruto chuckled lightly at the seriousness on Gaara's face and he lounged back in his chair.

"That would be something to hope for, when all of this is over anyway. I am sorry for what they did to you." Even though Naruto had no part to play in the capture or extraction, he felt it needed to be said.

Gaara looked into Naruto's eyes with a curious expression on his face, "You saved me, Naruto, I do not know or understand why you are apologising. I would do the same for you if the Akatsuki ever claimed a stake in you. Your whole village would, you're not alone anymore Naruto."

"Thank you Gaara." The red haired male made no further comment and the pair lapsed into silence.

"What will you do if they come for you?"

Naruto didn't dare look up, how could he tell Gaara that one of the most dangerous men in existence was heading towards Konoha as they spoke? Much less two of the men who had killed Gaara.

"I'm to fight a battle before that option arises."

Gaara looked curiously at the Namikaze heir before looking away and out of the window.

"You must be proud. I remember the first time I overlooked Sunagakure from the Kazekage tower… it took my breath away and I couldn't believe that something so beautiful, so alive, could be mine, or at least mine to cherish and look after."

Naruto mumbled an agreement before standing from his chair and walking over to the window. This particular pane of glass had no blinds drawn and his palm splayed out across the clear barrier.

"Some days I think that all of this is a dream… that I will wake up back in my apartment and continue to aspire to be Hokage. You're wrong though, Gaara, Konoha will never be mine. Konoha belongs to the people and to herself… I could never claim something so beautiful for myself."

Gaara looked at Naruto with one eyebrow raised and he smiled slightly,

"You always know just what to say Naruto. I'm surprised it took Konoha this long to see you fully… I've already heard so much praise about 'Namikaze-sama' and he hasn't even toured the streets yet." Gaara paused.

"For a Jinchuuriki it's overwhelming. The sheer adoration that becoming a Kage bestows on you is phenomenal and you may feel like the only person in the world at times. If I walk out of the office for fresh air and a child comes up to me they no longer shout out to me. One child even wanted a cuddle… imagine that…" A far away glint came into Gaara's eyes and Naruto smiled at his friend.

"It is a wonderful thing."

Gaara couldn't disagree. The pair sat in silence and watched the window until the sun dropped behind the Hokage monument and it was then that Gaara spoke.

"I assume you're to build up your relationships with other villages."

It wasn't a question, "Yes, in particular the villages that have been at an almost constant war with us. The Lightning country is such an example yet I fear that they would tear up any letter from the Namikaze clan… I may have to go there in person."

"That is highly dangerous Naruto…" Naruto chuckled,

"Not if I take my raven with me."

Gaara frowned in disapproval yet made no move to reply.

"I would suggest making an alliance with the other bordering nations… I know you are known in the Wave country well," Gaara paused at Naruto's curious expression and explained. "You haven't seen the Great Naruto Bridge? I believe you helped in its construction when you were a Genin."

A grin found its way onto Naruto's face and he barked out a laugh.

"Well that'll be one to tell the Genin at the Academy. I can't believe they named it after me? Do you think Kakashi-sensei or Sakura know this? I have to tell them if they don't."

Gaara smirked and stood from his chair.

"Thank you for having me, Hokage-sama. We will be leaving early tomorrow and I do not want you to see me off, it would be far too embarrassing for me."

Naruto shook his head and accepted Gaara's outstretched hand.

"As I said before, I will send through the necessary documents and I expect you in summer." The Kazekage pulled something from the pocket of his loose clothing. It was a glass ring and Gaara held it out to Naruto.

"If you wanted to propose you could at least get down on one knee." Naruto chuckled as Gaara glared at him and took the ring, slipping it onto his thumb. "If you need me in an emergency then insert the Kyuubi's chakra into it. It will explode and I will be alerted at once."

Naruto nodded and realised that Gaara had used the sand from his gaud to create this ring. It made him never want to use the Kyuubi's chakra but he knew that it would serve the perfect purpose.

"Thank you Gaara."

His companion bowed slightly before leaving and Naruto was left alone in the room. Naruto knew he had one more decision to make before he could allow sleep to overcome him and it would be one of the hardest decisions he had to make. Or rather, one of the decisions that he had to accept.

Surprisingly Tsunade was still in her office and, when Naruto knocked on the door, she called out for him to enter. She looked up and dropped the pen she had been holding, crossing her arms and nodding to Naruto.

"It feels wrong, Baa-chan… I know it isn't but I just – I'm useless to the village dead. I've chosen to go with Fukasaku so I can become stronger and defeat the Akatsuki."

Tsunade nodded, happy with his answer.

"There is one thing though." The woman looked up at the younger and she almost smiled at the passion radiating from every pore in his body.

"If Konoha needs me then I will return, circumstance be damned. I will not stand by and watch my village rot away when I could be helping. There will be a time too when I will need to face Madara and not even you could convince me otherwise."

Tsunade's smile grew and she shook her head gently.

"Good night Naruto, I shall inform Fukasaku." Naruto smiled in return and turned to leave when Tsunade continued,

"You know… your father said almost exactly the same words when he was announced Hokage. He would have been proud of you, Naruto, as would have Kushina."

Naruto looked back to see Tsunade's eyes watering slightly and he made a move to go back to her yet she waved him off.

"Go home; I'm sure Itachi will make you a nice dinner." Naruto smiled at her before walking away, whistling under his breath.

Please let salvation rein over them, Tsunade thought as she remembered the letter hidden in the top drawer of her desk, the one warning her of what would most likely occur.

 **Depart**

 **to cease to follow (a course of action)**

 **それる**

The sun was shining over Konoha that day and Naruto led the small procession up the hill to a little memorial ground below the Hokage Mountain. Tsunade held a bundle of white flowers to her chest, Shizune held a package and Naruto held a cup of instant ramen. Itachi was, of course, flying overhead, yet the raven has a small scroll tied to his leg with a message inside, something that the Uchiha had yet to write on as he insisted to do it at the memorial site.

They had pondered about the gifts delicately, wondering what the best token for the dead would be. Each could have brought something impersonal to them, or something given at a traditional memorial service but each of the gifts that were to be given were personal and meant something to the giver and the receiver, even if he wasn't among them any longer.

The picture of the Sannin was already set out, nearby to the Hokage memorials. Naruto felt a shiver run up his spine as he passed the Yondaime's stand and he smiled. Tsunade had told him that Minato would have been proud of him and Naruto couldn't help but agree; wearing his father's name at last felt as if he was announcing both his love of Konoha and the people within it to the world. Just like his father had done, Naruto would sacrifice everything he had to protect Konoha's people. He didn't hold it against the man, what he'd done to his son, and the anger that boiled up had faded.

A smiling picture of Jiraiya was set down on the marble pillar and Tsunade placed the flowers down by the edge of the picture. No one cried for their tears had been spilt more than ever in the last few days and the gallant Jiraiya would never have wanted people to mourn him in the way the others wished to.

The flowers reminded Tsunade of a different time, a different place. On one of their very first missions as Team Hiruzen, Sarutobi had taken them to a flower field where they were instructed to pick the flowers for their pollen with the utmost care. It was a high paying job because these flowers were rare and the owner of the field demanded Shinobi for the job of removing the flowers each year and storing the pollen.

They were a special type of plant, a variation of different species combined into one pure white flower. The fields needed to be cultivated and reseeded every year to maintain the purity of the field (if the flowers were left to rot into the ground, the balance within the soil would be thrown and the flowers would cease to grow there) and allow future generations growth.

Tsunade remembered Jiraiya slumped over, digging up roots with his bare hands after Orochimaru had stated that there was no way he would be able to do it. Tsunade was sat back, splitting the flowered heads from the stems and roots, placing them into separate boxes.

After Jiraiya had finished his work, he had wondered over with the last batch, smiling at her. She remembered so clearly what he had done next; tutted that Orochimaru had just left them again, and then sat down, watching her work for a minute before taking up a stem himself, carefully cutting the petals away from the green stalk.

Despite her protests that he should head on home, Jiraiya had chuckled and ignored any attempt Tsunade had made to remove him from the area, continuing with his work with tired hands, splitting the stem down the centre occasionally and chuckling apologetically afterwards.

She had loved him then and from then onwards. It hadn't been a crush, or an obsession, and she would even admit to loving him when she was with Dan. It was because she felt so many variants of love around Jiraiya that made him mean so much more to her. He wasn't just the guy she would have spent the rest of her days with; he was her closest friend, the man who knew the most about her. He had understood her pain when it had been announced Orochimaru was dead, and he understood the hopes she placed with Naruto.

With Jiraiya, she had never needed to explain herself. He always, always knew.

Naruto stepped forwards next, placing his plastic cup just next to the photograph frame and balancing the chopsticks on top of that. He smiled at the cheerful face of his mentor and stepped back, a tear of overwhelming grief and happiness spilling from his eyes.

The number of times Jiraiya had taken him out for ramen, saying it was because he didn't want Naruto to get homesick and could at least substitute for Iruka in one respect; as a money giver (though it always ended up being Naruto who would pay for everything, as begrudgingly he admitted that).

He remembered the ice lollies they had shared, the Sannin bringing one whenever he could see Naruto's head droop a little lower than the clouds, on the days his smile wasn't as bright as it usually was and the times when Naruto was so close to giving up. Jiraiya would saunter over, his shoes clipping against the ground, and an icy snap would accompany his approach.

Every time he would look up, Naruto would smile in return to the smile he was offered, taking the blue lolly with a soft snort and shifting over so the old man could sit with him.

Jiraiya had been so much to him; the man who taught him everything he knew, the man who had provided all the clues, the man who had been an open super pervert, the man who had revealed his family and the man who had been his family. It hurt to lose him, but there was no way he could give up the love he had for Jiraiya, never in a million years.

"I know he would have wanted us to be happy but it's so damn hard. I want to laugh and scream at the same time yet all I can do is stand here, grinning with tears leaking here there and everywhere."

Tsunade hugged Naruto to her and kissed his forehead gently.

"We all feel like that, others have just experienced too much of it and lock themselves away. Some people deal with it openly but there will always be one person, at the very least, who needs the pain sometimes, who needs to remind their self constantly that they can't look up and see that smiling face anymore. The only time they'll let you rest is when you find someone who can make you as happy as they did and be able to find something living for in life."

Naruto knew that Tsunade was referring to herself without even asking. She was looking wistfully up at the Hokage mountain, lost in memories Naruto knew came before his time. He eyes cleared when she focused her gaze on him and Naruto jolted, somehow understanding that he was partially the happiness that connected her now, Konoha being another extension of this love.

Turning his eyes at the sound of rustling paper, Naruto watched solemnly as Shizune unwrapped the brown paper she carried, and pulled out two books. One was placed carefully on the pillar and the other was carried over to Naruto, the hardback copy held out expectantly, the title screaming in his face.

"Here, he would have wanted you to read this book."

Naruto thumbed the cover open and smiled softly as he saw the neat script of his father's name. Underneath that was a message from Jiraiya and another name – Uzumaki Kushina. Naruto realised that this book once belonged to his parents and he hugged Shizune. It was more than just a reminder of the greatest mentor he had ever had, but his family.

"Jiraiya-sama wrote this and Minato-san and Kushina-san decided to name you after the main character."

Naruto's eyes widened and he flicked the page over again to reveal notes, a few names punctuated by reasons they would be good choices. The name at the end of the list was circled; Naruto. Next to it was the reason;

'Jiraiya-sensei wrote about a beautiful hero in this book. Kushina and I wish to raise our child to be someone with a beautiful heart'.

It was a little reason, just something that had obviously been scrawled in a hurry yet it meant the world to him. To think that Jiraiya had chosen his name… he knew the man was his godfather and he clutched the book to his chest.

Itachi swooped down at that point and Naruto unfastened the buckle of the letter holding strap. The Itachi-raven morphed into his human form fluently and took the paper from Naruto's hand. From the depths of his cloak, Itachi drew out a needle-pointed pen and pricked his right index finger.

Naruto watched as Itachi signed his name upon the paper with his left hand before passing it to him. Naruto pricked his own finger and wrote his name, before Shizune and Tsunade did the same.

Itachi was silent as he took the small scroll back and rolled it up, placing it directly in front of Jiraiya's picture. A few hand seals later and the scroll glowed before burning itself. When he was satisfied that the remains had cooled, Itachi stepped back and looked to Naruto.

Naruto stepped closer to the pillar to sweep away the ash and his eyes widened as he saw the glowing characters scripted upon the stone. He read it once, then again just to make sure, before calling the others over.

To a man who gave his life for future generations; we thank him and wish for our love, gratitude and respect to pass on.

Then their names were signed and Naruto smiled before slipping his hand into Itachi's squeezing gently. Itachi squeezed back and that was all the gratitude that was needed. Instead, Naruto said,

"I didn't know you were left handed."

Itachi turned to him and shrugged.

"Technically, like most Shinobi, I'm ambidextrous. I guess it just so happens that I prefer to use my left hand. The words will stay there until the destruction of the stone itself, be it natural or forced. Seeing as this site is used for the most important people to Konoha, this area has the most chakra-protection about it, meaning that these will be the very last to leave."

Naruto nodded with an interested look in his eyes – as he always did when a little piece of information about Konoha or her past was explained to him - and looked to Shizune and Tsunade. The Godaime stood with one hand curled around the edges of the picture frame and Shizune watched her from afar, a worried look on her face.

Naruto walked over to Shizune, dragging Itachi with him, and whispered something in her ear. Shizune smiled at him and mouthed a 'good luck' before turning to Itachi and smiling. Itachi felt himself smiling back as he inclined his head respectfully. Both men then took their leave quietly, allowing Tsunade her own private grief. Shizune watched as the pair walked solemnly away from the graveyard, silence cloaking them but not over-shrouding them. Tsunade was away in her memories and the dark haired woman was content to sit and wait, allowing a cooling breeze to waft over her skin.

They left the graveyard respectfully, bowing as they left the gates, as was customary yet not mandatory for successors to Konoha to do. Usually a Hokage never forced the rite, but it was different for Naruto, and he knew that the Kages before him would have done the same.

They walked down, back to the outskirts of the town, and Naruto tightened his hand even more from where Itachi's had connected when the Hokage had pulled him away from Jiraiya.

Rather than returning to his raven status, Itachi remained attached to Naruto's hand, cloak pulled up to shield his face. It was still early in the morning and not many people were out and about. The pair walked to the library and – as scheduled – Sai sat on the steps with a blank face.

"Morning," they greeted as Sai rose. The former ROOT member smiled towards them and inclined his head.

"Shall we then?"

Naruto nodded and Sai led the pair onwards, back to Danzou's base. Naruto had looked at the other member's profiles yet had to see anyone apart from Mujina who could be in an undesired position. That, coupled to the fact that most were over an impressionable age, meant that their views would not change so easily and they would most likely follow Danzou to death. It was an amazing amount of mental brain washing Danzou had exercised but not uncommon; Orochimaru did it, Madara did it, every Shinobi did it, really.

"Hokage-sama," one of the guards greeted and Naruto nodded to him, wishing him a good day. It was amazing how one man's body language could change after being wished a good day. The man relaxed and Naruto was sure that a smile was on his face.

"You too, Namikaze-sama."

"Thank you." Again the man's position changed, this time to surprise. Naruto resisted the urge to chuckle at the man's emotions and followed the two dark haired males down the corridor. This time Danzou was waiting for them, face grimly set and hands twitching upon his staff.

"Hokage-sama, I hope your week hasn't been too hard on you."

Naruto fought to retain his pleasant face as he caught the undertone; Danzou wanted him to be reminded of the grief, yet Naruto was above that. The old war veteran was nothing but a stickler for power and money, anything out of the two was a threat and Naruto, as it happened, was the biggest threat he'd ever come across.

Brain washing wouldn't work and offering him money or status would have no effect; Naruto was everything Danzou hated in a person. He was free willed, willing to be uncorrupted for his friends, yet corruptible if it meant saving their lives. Naruto believed in second chances, using every resource to its maximum and hadn't balked to the amazing source of power the Kyuubi offered. A lesser man would have destroyed himself with the beast's power, yet this one drew strength from that particular bond, shaping himself around the misfortune rather than allowing it to shape him.

"As I hope of yours. I went through the forms you kindly sent me and wanted to talk to the Shinobi now. Would you gather them?"

Danzou sent one of his guards off and the room was thrown into tense silence. Naruto stared at the ground, wishing more than anything to go up to his garden. All he wanted now was to relax; he had had a stressful morning already without Danzou thrown into the explosion waiting to happen.

The troops were lined up as Naruto remembered them, even the guard from the door. Naruto looked up and down the lines, smiling at each of the men and women.

"You should have all received a letter from last time I visited… Danzou-san, would you mind leaving?"

For a moment, Danzou looked so taken aback that his mouth hovered open. In a second he had concealed the look and taken a step back,

"Of course, Hokage-sama." Naruto nodded as the man left the room before turning back to the ANBU division.

"If any of you would like to take me up upon my offer then please say. I can get you out of here without Danzou knowing where you go or what you do. I will extend Hokage security to you if you wish of it and you will be allowed to live your lives your way. I know that you are accustomed to this life, but emotions should be present. If any of you have ever felt, you will know how horrible it can be, how scary and how painful, at times," Naruto paused, looking over the group.

"But it's wonderful at the same time. You can't live unless you have these things in your life, not unless you want to be useless drones sent off to battle when it suits your master."

The group remained silent and Naruto fought the urge to groan. Suddenly something occurred to him,

"Where is Mujina?"

Silence ensued until one man – the masked on from the entrance – spoke softly.

"She was found three days ago up on the rafters. There were signs of a struggle so suicide was ruled out but Danzou-sama didn't care to treat it as a murder inquiry so he dropped the case. "

Naruto's body stiffened at the news and his face turned up in snarl, all sense of professionalism lost to the barbarity of Danzou. It would most likely be what the old fool wanted, bait to set his trap, but Naruto would gratefully sink into the cage if he could make a point and take the leader of the wretched organisation with him.

"Who helped him? Danzou wouldn't be able to get up onto the rafters so which one of you rats helped him? Who condemns an innocent child to a fate like that! Answer me!" By the end of his speech, Naruto was roaring and the ANBU at the front had taken a step back.

When a swirled masked man and a striped masked woman stood forwards, a cold bolt of hatred was sent their way in a pure wave of murderous intent.

"We did it Hokage-sama."

Naruto watched as the masks turned to him, revealing blank porcelain and no faces.

"You neither have names nor faces here. Identities are forsaken along with emotions… is this how you really saw your life? Becoming murderers in your own organisation? You disgust me."

Naruto turned, unable to hide the look of disgust on his face any longer. He walked away from the group and Mujina's killers, fists clenched and his stomach fluctuating wildly. With his anger, the Kyuubi wanted a release yet Naruto would not give Danzou the satisfaction of the Kyuubi's wrath; whatever the fox did, Naruto wanted to do ten times more.

Itachi and Sai followed silently and the trio walked back through the corridors. Naruto wasn't even bothering to hide his chakra from passersby and Itachi knew that this was what the Hokage wanted; for Danzou to know how unsanitary his actions were, how disgusting he was as a man.

"Hokage-sama," called a voice from down the hall and Naruto turned to see the man who had been on guard.

"I-I want to come too."

Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before his face split into a grin and he pulled the ANBU member into a hug. There was someone who had seen the filth around him, the only one who had spoken with disgust and remorse in his voice when he informed the Hokage of the death of a comrade. Shinobi deaths weren't uncommon but by the hands of someone in the same organisation? Someone who had been trained to forsake their emotions just to get on the good side of a madman.

"Come to my office. Danzou won't even notice you're missing; he's too preoccupied with using the rest of the organisation as his pawns."

The man followed and, as soon as they got outside, he removed his mask. He had a young face, only of twenty years or so, with bright green eyes and dark brown hair. He smiled slightly at the trio before bowing slightly to Naruto.

"There's no need for that. Sai, would you look after him for a short while and take him around the village? I need to transfer some papers across and sort him out with a home and such."

Sai nodded and smiled at his former kinsman. Naruto noticed that the smile was freely given, unforced, and he joined in.

"I'm Sai and I used to be a part of ROOT. Naruto here helped me too. To me, Danzou is just a corrupt fool who needs taking down a peg."

Naruto smiled again as the pair walked off and sighed deeply; it appeared that the garden would have to wait for now. At least they had taken one of the people from that place, Naruto thought as he watched Itachi change and take flight.

 **それる**

It had been only a short while – around a week or so – since Sakura had last seen Naruto yet she knew that she missed him. She missed his constant presence, the smell of ramen that clung to him and his nonstop talking. She had never really believed in the phrase you don't know what you have until it's gone and Naruto was certainly gone now.

Of course, he wasn't unobtainable, she could go see him, but it wouldn't be the Naruto she was so fond of, the fool who was supposed to get everything done on guts alone. He would be the Hokage, Naruto as an adult, a Naruto his friends were unused to, and he would undoubtedly be busy, or preoccupied at least.

And it was mainly due to a raven. Why Naruto kept that bird around in the first place freaked her out, but to then call it Itachi? Surely that was too far! Itachi was an evil man, a man who had belonged to the Akatsuki and had hunted Naruto… and yet he had still named the bird after him. Sakura was no idiot but something didn't add up there but she couldn't work out what it was for the life of her.

"Sakura?"

Sakura looked up to see Ino, Chouji and Shikamaru. It was Thursday, the day when they all used to meet up for lunch and gossip, unless they had a mission. Then it was the group minus whoever was away.

It didn't take long for Kiba, Hinata and Shino to turn up; Maito Gai's former team were currently on a mission so they were not to be expected. Even though everyone was here, Sakura couldn't help but peak at the entrance every now and again in desperate hope that Naruto – the non-Hokage Naruto – would stride in through the doors any moment.

That moment never came.

"I can't believe he made Hokage though, the lucky bastard."

A few people chuckled at Kiba's outburst in the restaurant and Hinata blushed deeply as she shushed him quietly. It was well known that Hinata would be the one to get most embarrassed by any outburst, especially if included Kiba being loud or swearing.

"He's probably stuck doing paperwork or something… we should go see him."

At that moment, the tinkle of a bell sounded and Sai walked in, followed by an older man. The group watched as Sai led him over and introduced him.

"This is a friend of mine, please be nice to him. He's like how I used to be."

Without further ado, the pair sat down and the man smiled at everyone. No one really cared who he was yet there was something to him; everything about him looked a little too fake, a bit too forced, and Sakura understood what Sai had meant, smiling at the man a little more kindly, nodding her head.

"You know what, we should go see Naruto."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Kiba and, before she could stop herself, spoke,

"He's probably busy doting on Itachi."

The group fell silent and Sai tensed. Sakura looked around and shook her head,

"No, not him. Naruto has a raven now, a raven called Itachi."

The group had varying degrees of emotion; a few showed confusion, others slight disgust. It was not clear though; they would be going to see Naruto sooner than they had hoped.

As the others left, Sai turned his new companion and sighed,

"I guess we better continue the tour. If Danzou is anything like I remember him, he will be following Naruto to the Hokage office soon. I would not want to be anywhere within that area, especially as I value my life. A happy Naruto is hard to deal with but anger? There is no parallel to it, not even Danzou."

The man seemed shocked for a moment before he sighed;

"On with the tour then!"

 **それる**

Naruto rubbed his eyes as he pulled out the thick manila folder and flicked through the pages. It would take longer than usual as he had forgotten to ask the man's name and so only had pictured to go by. There was only so much Hokage that could take over his original personality, and this was exactly typical-Naruto behaviour. He finally located the man's information as Danzou barged in the door, red faced and eye glaring death.

"You took one of my men!"

Naruto's eyes were cold as he looked at the man in front of him. Itachi watched from the corner of the room, Sharingan on and fully focused on what each male would do next. Any battle with Naruto was worth watching but a battle of words between a man who he had knocked points up against already would prove to be invaluable.

"You killed an innocent child."

The ROOT captain's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish and his face grew into a deeper red.

"You realise, boy, that you are accusing me of homicide. I dropped the case in my division which means that everything you try will be against you."

Naruto winced at the name Danzou called him and resisted the urge to spit in the man's face. They were now only inches apart and Naruto could see every ugly detail of the man's face.

Neither men saw Itachi shift, nor saw him take flight. What they did take notice of, however, was the squawk the bird made yet they both dismissed it.

"I will be watching you, Danzou, because" only Itachi noticed the door open to reveal Kiba at the front of a group and he cawed louder in the hopes of getting Naruto's attention at least.

"I suspect that you are responsible for the murder of Mujina-san. If any harm comes to the man I pulled out then you will be the one with your neck in a noose, do you understand? I will not tolerate any more bullshit from you and you're lucky I don't shut the whole fucking place down, Kami knows it's overrun with vermin who would rather flock to something as disgusting as you then face their fears. It's only because of the individual wishes of your Shinobi that they are together, I'm not the one who's as cruel to rip that away from them unless they wish it."

Naruto turned then and Itachi fell silent. Naruto's eyes were still narrowed and his friends flinched back slightly at the ferocity in that one look. Danzou was standing still, having experienced the full effects of Namikaze Naruto's anger.

And it was something no one wanted to be subjected to, not even in such a small quantity.

It was then that Naruto's friends learnt that Naruto was no longer the child he pretended and that they had missed such an important change because of what they wanted to see. They wanted Naruto to be someone who was below them so even if they did the worst in their group they would always do better than Naruto.

Naruto wasn't standing for it anymore. Not even Danzou would be able to manipulate him when he was done carrying out his plans.

"Good afternoon, can I help you with anything?"

Kiba merely shook his head and allowed the elder man to step out quietly, head bowed to hide his shame from the teens.

"Do you get to do that often?"

Naruto shook his head and smiled at Kiba. His friends had accepted him for a ruler and that meant so much to him.

"No, thankfully. Danzou had been pissing around with me for too long now and he got an innocent girl involved."

The group didn't have to be told twice to understand that, especially considering they had heard Naruto's speech earlier; and to think, everyone had thought of Danzou as a kind, doddery old man.

Then again, appearances could be so dangerously deceptive, Naruto thought as he glanced over at Itachi-raven., sticking to the shadows and avoiding Sakura as she peered into the room.

Her eyes locked on the figure she had sought and she frowned at the flicker of red in its eyes. For a moment she could have sworn that there was an outside influence (or, an inside influence she would think of later on, tucked up in bed) but it could very well be the reflection of light on the bird's pupil.

Unlike the other times she had been in the presence of the bird, her arms did not rise with Goosebumps, the hairs flat against her skin. Her eyes darted over the black body and softened, maybe the bird should be respected as a bird, and not what it represented.

But then, what had the red been about? And the name? Naruto wouldn't allow a bird that had belonged to Itachi (he had used ravens, but a Genjutsu form, was it possible there could have been a real bird in there?) in his room, much less care for it, could he?

Sakura wasn't sure, after all, it wasn't just Uzumaki Naruto who had played that game; Uchiha Itachi had been a master.

 **Partner**

 **a person who shares or is associated with another in some action or endeavour; sharer; associate**

 **～と組む**

Naruto began the day with a smile. It wasn't that hard; he had put Danzou down a few pegs the day before and saved a man from the sickening clutches of the old fool. He also would be collected later that day – night for utmost secrecy – by Fukasaku and he had the whole day to do nothing. Tsunade had insisted that he spend the day relaxing as it would most likely be the last day he did for a while and, of course, Naruto had protested until Tsunade had mentioned that she needed to get back into her 'work' mode.

Naruto was to visit her later to run through the things he wanted done in his absence and make sure she had noticed the small changes to scenery he had made, namely the reorganisation of a lot of files.

Although Tsunade was still Hokage, Naruto had officially been accepted as Rokudaime and she would be as Sarutobi was to Minato. Anything that Naruto wanted done, Tsunade would willingly do. She had already told the blond that she wished to step down from her position and Naruto had gladly accepted that proposition.

Naruto rose from his bed and looked around the room. For a change, sunlight filtered in through the blinds and he realised that he had slept in for the first time in ages. Glancing at the clock, he realised that it was eight in the morning; usually he woke at five at the very latest and was in his office by now, coffee in place on his desk and hand cradling a pen that was scribbling on various sheets of paper.

He dressed slowly, after he had taken a long shower, before heading downstairs. Breakfast was a quiet affair and the Hokage wondered where his companion was. It was possible that Itachi had already gone up to the office to help Tsunade, after all, he would be doing a lot of that anyway and he may need to know specifics.

It was a shame though; Naruto had been looking forward to spending his last morning in Konoha in the company of Itachi… yet now was a perfect time to analyse his feelings towards the man. Especially when there was no cause of distraction as the analysis process would undoubtedly take a long time.

After all, what were they? They had kissed multiple times, embraced and lay in each other's comfort up on the roof, Itachi had even admitted that he cared for Naruto and Naruto knew he cared for Itachi… but could the care ever evolve into anything?

Naruto didn't know what love to another human felt like; he loved Konoha and he certainly loved his precious people but that was petty compared to the big guy, the Love with a capital L. The kind of love that was unconditional, the love that drew two human beings to experience things they would never have done if it had not been for their appropriately named 'other-half'.

When he was younger, Naruto had always dreamt of finding someone who would be with him forever, someone who would give their last breath to ensure that he would have even a moment's happiness. Someone who would be there at the end of the day, the person he could lie in bed all day with, with little care in the world. To just forget the world, the entire universe, for a whole day, for that one person.

Of course, he knew what love was, he felt it for his closest people and for his village but it wasn't the same as Love, wasn't the same as understanding it, and the mere thought of a proper relationship had thrown him into chaos, it still did a little.

Now that Naruto had grown up, he knew that you didn't just find that 'one'. He knew the world was filled with unhappy couples and lonely souls and he had automatically placed himself in the category of 'lonely souls' when he had become a Genin. After all, who would want someone who didn't understand the very basics of love, being without it for his whole life.

That was, until Sasuke had opened up. When Sasuke had been with Naruto, he was no longer just a lonely soul. Sasuke had been a sworn avenger and even Naruto back then knew that meant he wasn't looking for anyone. Naruto couldn't deny that he had been attracted to the youngest Uchiha but it had been more for kindred spirits, the revelation that he wasn't alone!

After Sasuke had left, Naruto had experienced his first wakeup call. Sasuke had moved on, that soul didn't want – didn't need – Naruto's company and the Uzumaki was dejected into a state of loneliness once again. He still had his friends and teachers, Jiraiya being one of the best people who had helped him through the depression, yet it hadn't been enough; none of them knew what Naruto did, no one else realised that they had no one, that they would never have anyone.

At least his precious people had memories. Tsunade could remember Nawaki and Dan; could relive the moments of happiness she had spent with her team and the many people she had met and Kakashi would always regret his actions the day Obito died, but he had memories of him, Rin and Minato too.

In fact, Jiraiya was probably the closest person to him, probably would still have been if not for Itachi or death. Jiraiya was the closest thing he had had to a Sasuke, someone who understood. Jiraiya never sugar coated things, had always laid the facts bare and ridiculed Naruto enough to know he wasn't alone. He had treated Naruto when he saw fit and trained him until he had lain exhausted at night but unable to sleep due to the pain he felt when he moved his muscles.

The Sannin had known the pain of loneliness but he, unlike Naruto, had found a way to combat it. Naruto had placed his self in the hands of others, protecting them above him and Jiraiya had done that, and more. Jiraiya had travelled, forgotten the memories of those who didn't quite cross the border, drank and committed himself to other duties; namely collecting information on Konoha's threats.

Jiraiya had lived and, to an extent, moved beyond. He hadn't moved on, he was still brushing against the pain every now and again, but he was beyond it, looking at Naruto from the other side of the glass and desperately trying to help the younger, holding out a hand and smiling.

When Itachi had appeared to him, so desperate and alone, revealed what happened that night… Naruto knew that there was someone better than what Sasuke had been. Itachi had been someone who understood exactly what Naruto did, possibly even more so.

Itachi had spent his whole life living, in essence, for someone else. Each move had had made was for the brother who hated his very existence yet Itachi bore that weight alone. The Akatsuki had been sure that their Itachi – the one who wanted to rule the Shinobi nations through – had been the true face of the Uchiha, Madara had believed that he knew Itachi, the man who would give everything for Sasuke alone, forgetting Konoha at the end and Konoha thought they knew the real Itachi, the traitor who, in cold blood, killed all his clan bar one.

Naruto knew now that he was the only one, the only person in the world who knew Uchiha Itachi for who he was. He knew Itachi would give everything for Konoha, maybe even for Sasuke. He would protect his brother to the best he could yet he would leave Sasuke to make his own choices, choosing to clean up alongside Naruto. Naruto's Itachi wanted Madara dead, wanted Konoha to prosper and wanted peace. Naruto's Itachi cared for Naruto and…

And it led back to the beginning. And what? What did Itachi feel for him? What did Naruto feel for Itachi? Placing the spoon for his cereal down, Naruto munched on the last of his breakfast and stood up, dumping both the bowl and spoon in the sink on his way out.

For a change, Naruto decided to take a short tour of Konoha. He wanted to see his home town before he left it, with hope that it would be the same upon his return. If the Akatsuki did anything to his village then it would certainly be not just the Kyuubi's wrath against them.

He passed by the Academy and saw Iruka giving a lecture to a class outside. He smiled and walked over.

"Good morning," he greeted and Iruka smiled. The children looked at Naruto's cloak in awe and fell silent as soon as Naruto stepped up beside their teacher.

"As you know, class, this is Namikaze Naruto. What do we give the honour to that the great Rokudaime is visiting us?"

Naruto chuckled and the children tittered excitedly. He was thrown back to the day that the Sandaime had visited his class, taken questions and looked at them all with such love in his eyes. Naruto understood, now, why he had been so comfortable around the Sandaime; Hiruzen had loved every citizen of Konoha, every adult and every child. It was the love a parent felt for a child and Naruto felt this love pull on his heartstrings as he looked down at the admiring faces.

"Nothing, I was walking through the village and decided to pay a visit to my favourite teacher."

As the class looked up in awe, Iruka smiled and explained,

"I was the one to teach Naruto in the Academy. He always used to harp on about becoming Hokage and always slacked in class." A few kids gained a grin at this and Iruka caught them and hastened to add, "But if it wasn't for all his hard work and training with Hatake-san and Jiraiya-sama then he wouldn't be where he was today. You guys cut back on the work and you won't hear the end of it from me."

Naruto chucked again as a few of the children hung their heads. Evidentially these were the ones who preferred to laze about and Naruto couldn't help but sympathise with them; he remembered being bored at the Academy… and then the real world! It had been a shock but a welcome one at that.

"Listen to Iruka-sensei, kids. He has a point and I know it's boring but it will help. When you become a Genin I want you all to remember that you represent Konoha; be proud of who you are and be happy."

Something unsettled him, telling these children that they would grow to fight, grow to kill and, quite possibly, die in the name of Konoha. He looked away with a forced smile, unsure of what exactly this thought meant but pondering on it all the same in the back of his mind.

Naruto nodded to them and smiled at Iruka before walking off. The children watched after him, faces of admiration and respect following the cloaked man as he walked away. Iruka smiled,

"He's come a long way… do we have any aspiring Hokage's with us today?"

Naruto heard the children laugh and smiled along with them. These children had no cares, no worries. They were innocents, untainted by the corruption Orochimaru and the Akatsuki had brought. If he wanted to end the upcoming war, Naruto needed to keep these children free of their opponents and that was exactly what he wanted to do. It was clear, or at least a little clearer, of what he could do as a Hokage.

He spent a further hour in the streets of Konoha, talking to merchants and the inhabitants of Konoha. He was given, by many, free produce, to which he shook his head and set out the correct money. Each merchant had protested but Naruto had merely smiled before walking on with the bag of apples, cherry pie or loaf of bread.

He entered his office and set down the bundle of food he had collated on his trip and smiled at Tsunade. She raised an eyebrow before speaking,

"Do I even want to know?"

Naruto smiled.

"I visited Iruka this morning and then took a walk around Konoha. I guess I bought a lot."

Tsunade shook her head and helped herself to the sushi selection. Naruto glanced around the office and noticed the lack of his raven companion.

"Where's Itachi?"

Tsunade finished her mouthful before speaking,

"He's upstairs. Something's wrong with him but he wouldn't talk to me… go sort him out. I don't want him moping around me while you're gone, where would the fun be in that? He'll be preoccupied with the moping needed to do any of the, uh, important jobs or… errands. He's old enough to buy sake, right?"

Ignoring the last question, which was only made in an attempt to stray his worries a little more, Naruto frowned and thanked Tsunade before leaving the room. Itachi was never the sort to just ignore Tsunade; she was, after all, still a Hokage and respect had been taught to the Uchiha from the earliest of ages. He walked quickly up the stairs, almost afraid of what could have happened to Itachi, and wrenched the door open.

Itachi was sitting in the wired pagoda where they usually sat together. Although it wasn't raining, it might just have been for the man's clothes were soaked through and his hair hung limply around his head. Worry rose up in Naruto's stomach and he ran forwards, stopping next to Itachi and calling to him softly.

"Itachi? What happened?"

Dark eyes turned to him slowly yet he was silent. Naruto sat down in front of Itachi on the wooden seat, crossed his legs and waited for the man to speak. Whilst waiting, he took Itachi's hands in his own and felt the coldness, reminding him of when they had been lifeless. Upon his bidding, the Kyuubi's chakra fizzled from Naruto to Itachi and, gradually, the warmth returned to the older man.

"Thank you," he finally said and Naruto smiled softly.

"What happened," Naruto tried again and waited once more. It was a little while before Itachi spoke again.

"I found Sasuke. He is in the Lightning country and is wearing the cloak of Akatsuki. I knew that Madara had got to him but… but to use Sasuke in such a way? I tried to keep him away from Madara, with the Amaterasu…" Itachi trailed off and Naruto winced slightly.

"Madara would use anyone, Itachi, but you have to remember that Sasuke made his decision. We can't be sure that he won't turn on Madara yet I think it's safe to say that he's not coming back to Konoha upon peaceful terms. We have to let Sasuke do what he wants now and counter suitably. You gave your life for him once and I won't let you do it again."

Itachi looked directly into Naruto's eyes, Mangekyou activating and showing Naruto exactly what Itachi had seen. The bond they had created by accident, before Itachi had died and before Naruto had chosen his path, was happy to oblige, knowing full well that the two chakras of the people involved had been placed together before.

"The eight tails? They have… two left?"

Itachi nodded slowly and Naruto finally knew what the man was really talking about. It wasn't Sasuke, this time, but Naruto himself.

"Itachi, I'm leaving Konoha to train. I'll come back stronger and not even Madara could scratch me."

Both of them knew it was an overestimation but it was the principle behind it; Naruto was letting Itachi know that he wouldn't let Madara take him easily.

"If I have to I'll destroy the Kyuubi."

Itachi's eyes widened at that and Naruto continued,

"I don't know how to do it but I will find a way if there is no other. The Akatsuki won't get their fox, even if I have to kill the beast myself with my bare hands."

Itachi smiled weakly and pulled Naruto into a hug. Maybe Itachi did feel something more than care; after all he was worried about Naruto, not Sasuke. Once the Akatsuki had the eight tails' Jinchuuriki in their grasp then it would be all focus on the Kyuubi. Even Madara might come for him and Naruto knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat Pein, Madara and Sasuke in the same fight.

"Have you ever loved anyone Itachi?"

Itachi looked down at the man in his arms and responded,

"I used to love my parents once and-"

"Not that type of love." Itachi looked down again and thought before replying.

"There was… one person, a very long time ago. I don't remember him much… not what he looked like or what he was like but I remember the feeling. It was hard to kill him but it was unavoidable. He hated me at the end, he never said it but I remember the look in his eyes. I'm still not sure if he ever truly loved me in return. I could have just been a naïve child to him… a year in age in our clan could make a wall of difference."

Naruto looked up with wide eyes and he entangled his fingers with Itachi's. Turning round on the man's lap, he tilted his head up to graze his lips against Itachi's. Itachi deepened the kiss and Naruto found his hands winding round the pale neck, delving into dark tresses. The kiss broke as Naruto pulled away and said,

"What are we?"

Itachi looked at Naruto and closed his eyes, sifting through each memory he had of the blond. Naruto waited with curious eyes, denying the anticipation he felt inside of him, and held his breath. Itachi finally opened his eyes and they shoed such emotion that Naruto felt his body literally melt. The breath he had been holding faded from him as he knew his answer even without Itachi saying it.

"Partners. But, more."

Naruto launched at Itachi, their lips connecting harshly. Naruto smiled at the clunk of teeth smashing together and wound his arms tighter around Itachi's neck, pulling the man into an inescapable hold. He felt two arms wind round his own body, holding onto the warmth that Naruto provided. It didn't matter that Itachi was wet – Naruto had forgotten entirely – and the water had begun to seep into his clothes. As they continued the kiss, Naruto wondered how the clothes had got wet in the first place; had it been raining in the Lightning country? Possibly. Itachi pressed his body to Naruto's and Naruto felt heat rise up within him, a gasp breaking off that trail of thought. He broke away from Itachi and looked him in the eye,

"Can we really do this?" Itachi looked back at Naruto with eyes wider than usual, something was behind them and it wasn't just surprise or slight anxiety of what they would possibly be doing next.

"You're going away…"

"No shit." Itachi glared at Naruto and bit his lip.

"It's up to you."

Naruto sighed and looked down at their hands, the two of them still connected, and he wiggled his fingers, moving both of their hands at the same time. He appeared to have made his mind up and kissed Itachi's cheek fleetingly.

"Home?"

Itachi's breath caught as Naruto looked up at him through his spiky fringe and his lip twitched slightly. They stood and Naruto held onto the Uchiha's arm as he ran slowly through hand seals that would take them back to the Namikaze household.

Naruto glanced at Itachi with a slight blush on his cheeks and Itachi followed him silently as he led them up the stairs. There was silence in the house and both of them felt suddenly awkward. They had kissed, some might say a lot, but this was a completely different matter.

As soon as they entered the room, Naruto shut the door and launched in for the kill. They kissed lightly, Naruto stepping backwards towards the single bed in the centre of the room. They broke apart and a string of saliva fell from between them and onto Naruto's chin. Naruto chuckled lightly before wiping it away and kissing Itachi once more.

It was a gentle pull that Naruto used to get Itachi to follow him onto the bed as he sat, and the Hokage smiled into their lips. Naruto looked down as he felt hands starting to explore the folds of his clothes and couldn't help but feel his own hands twitching to feel the skin of his partner.

There had been such a relief when Itachi had said that and Naruto would never admit it. If he had thought about it in depth, he would have realised that Itachi had meant it on two levels, one; they were together in that was and two; they were equals. The fact that an S –classed Nin saw him as equal was… flattering. That coupled with the fact that Itachi was quite possibly the most-

Naruto was aware of air hitting his skin as his clothes were slipped off slowly. His eyes opened as he realised that Itachi's lips were no longer upon his own; rather they were exploring the bumps, crevices and wrinkles of Naruto's body. Even with the Kyuubi, Naruto had his flaws; it just so happened that Itachi favoured every one of them.

The exploration continued and Naruto smiled as fingers traced the outline of muscles, veins, arteries, and when Itachi's nimble fingers traced patterns on his front, marking where each organ would be and finishing off with a kiss to each point.

Naruto finally found Itachi at eye level to him and the Uchiha smiled, eyes softening as he kissed Naruto's nose lightly. The blond smiled and pushed Itachi's cloak from his shoulders, allowing the material to pool onto the floor.

It wasn't long until the pair was down to their underwear and Naruto took in all of Itachi's body. Here and there were small nicks and scratches, testimonies to the fights and scars he had received. There was a grated one upon his upper arm and Naruto stroked it, eyes full of questions.

"Do you remember Kisame's sword?"

Naruto nodded and his eyes filled with understanding.

"I never thought he would have been able to get a scratch on you."

Itachi chuckled lightly and played with a few strands of Naruto's hair.

"I woke him up early, he never liked that but he didn't attack me again. A plus side to the Mangekyou I guess."

Did anyone else know Itachi as intimately as this? Naruto knew the answer to be no. Even the person he had been involved with (half-lover could be an appropriate name as Itachi had stated that he didn't know how the man had felt, except hatred at the end of his life) couldn't have know Itachi in this way. Naruto knew that Itachi was aware of how he felt, understood his feelings and they were shared beautifully.

Naruto nodded and sat up so he was kneeling next to Itachi. They drew together once more and Naruto shuffled back, breaking the kiss in surprise as he fell off the edge of the bed.

"Naruto!" Itachi's voice was laced with worry and Naruto looked up from his position on the ground with an apologetic look on his face. Itachi sighed and extended a hand, pulling Naruto up off of the ground.

"This isn't working…"

Itachi murmured an agreement. It wasn't that there was no attraction, or that it felt wrong, but it just wasn't working. It had been too rushed, too soon after admitting feelings completely; a spur of the moment thing that was, apparently, the wrong spur of the moment.

Itachi kicked the covers down and lay down on his side, patting the empty space for Naruto. The Hokage looked at him questioningly and Itachi replied,

"I haven't slept for the last twenty four hours. I'm borrowing your bed and your warmth."

Naruto chuckled at the statement before flopping down and allowing Itachi to wrap his arms around his body. Naruto shuffled closer, enjoying the unique sensation of skin against skin; a luxury he had never had. Itachi closed his eyes and Naruto tucked his head into Itachi's chest, revelling in the man's heartbeat, reminding Naruto that they were very much alive.

 **～と組む**

Shizune risked a glance out of Tsunade's window as the woman continued to talk. Apparently Naruto wanted the profiles of all the ROOT ANBU members copied into another file so Danzou could receive his files back. Of course that meant a lot of work that she would have to do.

That was the downside to having Tsunade as a Hokage; Shizune ended up either doing the work or redoing the stuff Tsunade had already done. With Naruto, the Hokage took it upon himself to often work over what was expected of him, especially with Danzou and the Advisors on the loose. Shizune had once commented upon it and Naruto had blushed saying that he was exploiting her enough by constantly asking for hot beverages.

Hence as to why Shizune secretly preferred Naruto as Hokage to Tsunade. With Naruto, she had time to work with her Jounin team and actually socialise. When it was her and Tsunade, the closest she ever got to the outside was Iruka, and that was only when he came for the missions days – she was convinced Iruka was scared of her; he often tried to avoid her. Not that she could blame the poor man; whenever he came she would latch onto him and bombard him of questions such as 'what does sunlight feel like again? I forgot' – and Tonton. A man who was scared of her, yet too polite to do anything, and a pig.

Kudos to that!

Shizune snapped out of her thoughts as Tsunade finished talking. On cue she said,

"Of course Tsunade-sama."

Tsunade nodded in approval yet Shizune had something on her mind.

"When will you tell Naruto and Itachi?"

Tsunade looked up and took a sip of the sake that was next to her.

"Tell them that they're doomed if they stay together? Naruto won't listen to me. The best thing he's ever had is Itachi, whether he realises it or not, and he'd hate me for it. My best bet is to approach Itachi whilst he is separated from Naruto. I know what he will choose and he knows it."

Shizune nodded sadly and spoke quietly,

"They are happy together. I believe that they could grow to love each other… if they don't already."

Tsunade scoffed,

"Itachi has shut his emotions off for too long. His emotions were concentrated towards Konoha and Sasuke. Even if his feelings have changed towards Sasuke, Itachi would not just switch them over to Naruto. He is indebted to Naruto though, and that is different. If Naruto wishes to pursue a relationship then the Uchiha will let him. Naruto saved his life so what is playing the part of a lover? God knows he has acted magnificently before, not even the Akatsuki could see through his act."

Shizune looked down and frowned.

"I don't think you're right there, Tsunade-sama." Tsunade looked up in surprise; normally Shizune remained quiet, even if she obviously wanted to object. The Hokage smiled and allowed the dark haired woman to continue, interested in what she would say, knowing that Shizune had a strong point to make.

"Itachi may feel indebted to Naruto but Naruto is all he has left. His brother believes him dead so that connection is one sided. Even when Sasuke hated Itachi there was still the bond between them, the bond that Itachi could manipulate for Sasuke's sake. Konoha believes him a traitor and it is only through Naruto that he can protect it. Naruto is the Rokudaime and by loving Konoha, he loves Naruto. They both share a passion for the village and this passion is what draws them together."

Tsunade took another slow sip of her sake and sighed.

"For the hope of everything, Shizune, I hope you're right."

Shizune blushed; it was strange to hear such praise from her mentor and she bowed as smoke rose up in the room to reveal Fukasaku and his transportation.

"Tsunade-sama, Shizune, how are you?"

Tsunade looked towards Shizune and nodded. Shizune slipped out from the room and walked out of the tower. She would go and inform Naruto that the Toad Sage was here to collect him and escort him to the Hokage tower.

It didn't take long to reach the Namikaze household and she knocked on the door. When she received no answer (on the fourth knock) she decided to enter the house. It was unlocked and she walked through the silent rooms, wondering if Naruto could be asleep. She walked up the stairs, wincing as one creaked. She frowned then; why was she trying to be quiet?

"Naruto?" She called out as she pushed the door to Naruto's room and her eyes widened. She shouted out in surprised before flushing deeply, shutting the door at the sound of a body falling from the room and calling out to the occupants,

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

 **～と組む**

Naruto woke to a shout and he bolted upright to see a red faced Shizune at the door, stuttering apologies and turning away. He twisted in the covers, waking Itachi up, before falling off the bed again.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

Naruto winced at her apology and wrenched the door open to see her walking off down the hallway.

"Wait! Shizune! It's not what it looks like!"

Shizune stopped and turned round, muttering an 'oh God' as she saw Naruto's state of clothing… i.e. boxers.

"We didn't do that – I mean we almost did but… No! No, nothing like that- just… fuck."

Shizune winced as Naruto carried on talking and the pair looked to the door as it shut with a bang.

"Forgive us Shizune-san, we lost track of time." Itachi, a fully clothed Itachi, walked down the hall. At the end he turned back and coughed slightly.

"I assume Fukasaku-sama's here…?"

Naruto and Shizune leapt into action then; Shizune talking loudly to Naruto as he continued to apologise. They both disappeared into the bedroom and Itachi rolled his eyes as he heard sounds of someone – most likely Naruto – falling over as he tried to dress quickly.

When the pair finally came out of the room, it was Naruto who was red faced. Shizune walked calmly past the Uchiha and he raised an eyebrow at Naruto.

"Don't ask," he muttered and Shizune wheeled round.

"You may be a Hokage, Naruto, but don't think you've escaped this time. I'll get Iruka to lecture you on 'Safe Sex' for next time."

Itachi ducked his head and Naruto's blush deepened.

"I told you it's nothing like that! We just fell asleep-"

"Of course, fell asleep on top of each other," Shizune repeated in obvious disbelief.

Naruto shook his head and Itachi sighed.

"No! We weren't even naked Shizune! This is just a misunderstanding!"

Shizune's eyes narrowed and she spoke quietly,

"I'm still telling Iruka." Naruto paled and Itachi walked behind the pair as Naruto pleaded with the woman.

It was in this way that they arrived before Fukasaku and the occupants in the room looked up with interest.

"Naruto!"

Naruto ceased talking and looked at the toad. He grinned and nodded his head,

"Shall we?"

 **Realisation**

 **coming to understand something clearly and distinctly; "a growing realisation of the risk involved"**

 **認識**

The air was thick, heavy and the stench of death rose around him. His head tilted to the side and he scuffled back as something – his mind refused to register it as a human corpse – fell to the ground, head falling at least five meters away. Across the road he could see a woman beckoning to him yet his dazed head turned to look at the metal scythe that loomed above him.

"MOVE!"

He could hear a voice and see a man with the woman, his lips moving out of sync to the words, yet he made no move. Something warm trailed down his cheek and Uchiha Itachi realised, for the first time, he was crying. He had cried before yet they had been intentional… he had known he was crying then. It was this, figuring out after god knows how long that he had been crying that scared him.

"Itachi!"

With a scrabbling notion, one leg slipping behind and causing him to have to push back upwards with his hand, Itachi ran over to the couple. The scythe cut behind him yet the attacker was cut off and Itachi felt a cool breeze pass by him; his father had met the attacker with the grace of an Uchiha elite.

"Itachi, we need to go now."

And, like any good son would, Itachi listened to his mother as she pulled him away from the recent battlefield. They ran, adrenaline pumping through them as Konoha was slowly alerted to the emergency attack upon their defences. It had been the first personal attack that the Lightning country had waged against Konoha personally and it wasn't long before Konoha's resistance met the attackers.

Civilians rushed towards the Hokage Mountains where they would be safe. It was within this rush that Uchiha Mikoto was pushed down and Itachi stopped.

"Keep going Itachi!"

Itachi, unable to do anything anyway as the crowd pushed towards him, nodded and hurried onwards. Unlike any others of his age, Itachi was smarter and far more aware of things that were going on around him. Like many others in the Uchiha clan, he had grown up alone with very little parent intervention; it was to ensure that, by the time he was a man, he would be independent and unstoppable as a Shinobi.

Suddenly he crashed into something – someone – and he looked up in fear, afraid that he would see his own face reflected in the scythe. Instead he saw two deep blue eyes and a look of concern on the man's face.

"Hold on," was the only thing the man said before he took hold of Itachi, lifting him into his arms. Unremarkable speed took over the Uchiha's heir and he held on tightly to the man, tears streaming from his eyes.

When they came to a stop, the man held Itachi on top of the Hokage Mountain and looked down to the fighting down in Konoha.

"I'm not needed yet, they will throw my kunai and I won't enter before. Besides, up here we can see where their attack is coming from can't we? We need to assess the damage done and you were all alone… I couldn't leave you down there now could I?"

Itachi looked at the man, startled. Not even his father had spoken to him in such a way; a way that made him feel as though he was an adult. Of course, he was only four and his mind should have been young, naïve and full of thoughts of playing… but he had been brought up in a war. He was, by far, a long shot from naïve or young.

"Can you see it?"

Itachi scanned over the village before his eyes focused on one particular point.

"The Western border… there is a huge cloud of smoke there."

The man looked down in surprise and Itachi sniffed, wiping tears from his eyes with a black sleeve. He had a sudden urge to appear as an elite Uchiha in front of this blond man and was doing the best he could in the situation to wipe the tears away from his face.

"You're right. You know what kid?" Itachi looked up, "You'll be a great ninja one day, make me proud."

Itachi watched as the man left suddenly and, months later – after the war had ended – would realise that the man who had praised him was the newly instated Yondaime Hokage. As for now, Itachi didn't shift an inch; afraid of what may happen if he did or who he may alert.

It took six more hours of fighting until it died down and the town fell silent. Itachi knew that he should have waited until other people returned to the village; until the Shinobi said it was safe… but his legs carried him down the narrow steps, down to the village and into carnage.

Bodies were strewn across the street and a few houses were crumbling; windows smashed and blood as a second coat of paint. Eyes looked at Itachi, cold and lifeless, and the young boy shut his eyes, curling his body into a ball.

The twenty one year old Uchiha Itachi stared into his glass of water, pushing the memories of his childhood away. He had sworn, years ago, that he would commit his life to protecting Konoha, the stability of the village over even his family – bar Sasuke, but that was a completely different can of worms – and the Hokage. He was sure that he would never be 'in love' but this… what he had with Naruto, with the Hokage he had sworn to protect and love, could it be acceptable?

Itachi glanced at the other person in the room and waited for her judgement. She was looking at him with amber eyes and Itachi knew that something close to home would hit. And that he wouldn't like it.

"Uchiha Itachi, you experienced war at the age of four. Correct?"

Itachi inclined his head; the Godaime already knew that. The Lightning-Leaf war had claimed so many casualties and ruined so many other lives… though it had sharpened Itachi's genius mind and committed him wholly to Konoha and her people.

"If a war broke out again, would you fight? You have admitted that you are a pacifist, hating war to the centre… but what would you do in the event of such an occurrence?"

Itachi almost dropped the glass of water and he noticed, with disgust, that his hand shook. His hand had only shaken for two reasons before; one was the disease that had rocketed over him before he had 'died', the illness that had caused him to explore various forms of medication… many resulting in a night time trip to the toilet where he spent another sleepless night curled over the porcelain bowl.

Thankfully the disease had been banished from him when Naruto had healed him, or the Kyuubi had to be more correct, and he minimised the usage of the Sharingan, all forms including the Mangekyou.

The other reason had been when he was fighting against the emotionless self he contained. To truly understand what this mean, one had to understand that Uchiha Itachi was not – and never could be – an emotionless shell. He was a passionate man for Konoha and unafraid to admit his faults… aside from this one.

"I understand what you are asking, Tsunade-sama but I cannot say that-"

"I have received a letter from Fukasaku, in which he expresses concern about your growing relationship to Namikaze Naruto." Tsunade pulled out an envelope from her drawer and passed it over the table, sliding it across with two fingers. Itachi took it and pulled out a piece of paper from the opened slot, scanning through the print and frowning.

"What Fukasaku-san suggests is preposterous; to believe that I would be capable of something like that." Itachi ignored his shaking hands and focused on the Godaime.

"He is not the only one to think in that way, Itachi. When it comes to it, we both know that you will leave at the time of war, ultimately abandoning Naruto. Could you do that to him? Involve yourself in a relationship and then discard your partner, your equal, in his time of need?"

Itachi looked down at the table and closed his eyes.

"War is inevitable-"

"And so is your departure. When will you tell him?"

Itachi clenched his jaw together before speaking carefully,

"I have made it clear to Naruto that I am indebted to him and I will not leave him." The answer seemed to satisfy the blonde and she smiled grimly.

"If you are, as you say, indebted to him then how can the relationship between you be real? Surely your mind is suggesting the prospect of attraction – possibly love or lust – to compensate for the debt you feel. Then you need to take Naruto's feelings into account; he has known nothing of romantic love and for you to simply announce such things, it could destroy him. It will destroy him, because you will leave. You're not constant, Itachi, you are like fire; burning one minute before vanishing the next."

Tsunade picked up a sheet of paper and left Itachi to stare and think over what she had said. In truth she hated this; she wanted nothing but to thank the Uchiha for opening Naruto's eyes but there was nothing she could do. To save Naruto she had to cut ties here before the pair got too close. It was dangerous enough already; Itachi and Naruto had, according to Shizune, been sleeping together the day Naruto left (she still didn't know if that included sexual acts) but this drew up more complications.

A glass crashed onto the table and Tsunade noticed Itachi's shaking hands. Apparently the water had slipped from his hands and the Hokage watched, startled, as Itachi lost his calm, the emotion-filled young man Itachi really was spilling over the façade.

"What can I do Tsunade-sama? I don't want to leave him and I am disgusted that you claim my care and affection for Naruto is to merely compensate my debt. You are right though; I can't fight a war and I won't but… I can't leave him."

Tsunade stood from her desk and took Itachi's hands in her own, keeping them away from the glass that had shattered on the table. Two dark eyes watched as the woman's arms encircled him and he stood still, surprised. Tsunade pulled back after a few seconds and held Itachi still on each upper arm. He was scared and alone now, being without Naruto unsettled him and Tsunade had to help in any way she could.

"It will work out, Itachi. You will either need to sacrifice your feelings for Naruto or your belief about war. It must have been hard to grow up with a war waging around you and being the heir to the Uchiha clan… yes I'm well aware of how they brought children up previous to the war," she answered to the surprise in Itachi's eyes.

"You were four, four years old and you knew of worse things than most Shinobi veterans had. I was the one who found you, you know. You were out there on the day that the Lightning took Konoha by surprise, curled up in a pile of bodies."

Itachi's eyes widened in shock as he remembered when he had curled up, and then being held by someone. The only reason why he hadn't struggled had been because,

"You reminded me of my mother… I thought you were Mikoto."

It was Tsunade's turn to be surprised yet she patted Itachi on the shoulder before returning to her desk. She had never been good at the whole comfort thing but she understood the pain Itachi felt. She had been out there in the war, flinching as she healed and avoided blood at the same time, called back by demand of the Sandaime. No one had suspected the attack and Tsunade wouldn't have been there if she had known, but Hiruzen insisted that she analyse a difficult sample.

She had never made it to the hospital, instead choosing to ignore the blood for a while and comfort the little boy who was alone, surrounded by a cold pile of bodies, crying as though every drop of water wanted to evacuate his body.

"For the hope of everyone, Itachi, I hope that you chose the correct path. No one can be certain of what that is yet but only you and Naruto can be the ones to judge it at this time. Whatever you do, keep in mind that Naruto cares for you and hurting him may end up being the best thing you could ever do… he's young, Itachi, still green to the world. If you do not take care of him then allow him to someone who will."

Itachi nodded slowly, digesting the information, before looking out of the window.

"I'll be gone for a while. I wish to… think, clear my head."

With that, Itachi took to the air and through the window in his raven form, the transformation hardly disturbing any speck of dust in the room. Tsunade found herself watching until she had lost sight of the feathered body and looked at the mess the man had left; water dripped onto the floor and glass covered almost half of her desk.

"Why couldn't he have cleaned this up first?"

Tsunade sighed heavily before rubbing her eyes; it was only lunchtime and it had already been a hell of a day.

 **認識**

Naruto looked down at the Toad Sage and then at the object in his hands. When he had envisioned training, he had not been counting on the toad doing anything other than teaching him how to use Sage Chakra.

Yet apparently they were.

Fukasaku had noticed that Naruto carried the mark of the Deities, a small mark on his upper arm that could have passed for a scar. This had instantly drawn interest upon Naruto's abilities and the Hokage had been forced to unseal his sword, the Kogitsune-maru.

Naruto himself hadn't touched the sword since it had been taken in by him, hardly thought of the weapon, but apparently Fukasaku wanted him to train with the sword. The toad claimed that, if Naruto could master it, he could refine the Sage Chakra into its pure form, undiluted by nature and a raw energy, using the sword as a medium. It would make any attack once used with the sword stronger but wouldn't limit Naruto unable to use the normal Sage Chakra as well.

"You were given the 'Little fox'? You may have a fox inside of you," here the elderly toad had poked him in the stomach and Naruto rubbed the spot, "But I wouldn't have thought that Inari would have bestowed it upon you… it takes more than just courage to get a gift like that. It all works out though; in fact it is better than I had planned."

Naruto had raised an eyebrow yet no explanation had been given… and he found himself sitting after his first lecture of Sage chakra. Fukasaku had mentioned the water in the pool before him yet had forbidden him from touching it, or even trying to draw upon the Sage chakra; for now, Naruto was to become one with his sword.

Whatever that meant, after all it was a hunk of metal – at the end of the day – and he would only become 'one' with it when he used it as an extension, in battle.

"I don't get it."

Fukasaku sighed and placed the sword in the palms of Naruto's hands, hilt in the left hand and the side of the blade in the right.

"Listen to what your sword says. Unlike any other sword, the swords that are forged by the Deities are living. You need to connect with Kogitsune-maru before you can wield it."

Naruto frowned and deepened his concentration. He sighed after a few seconds and opened an eye,

"Then it's broken, my sword is dead."

Fukasaku frowned at Naruto and shook his head.

"Let me explain; these swords use the same basics that Sage chakra uses, namely the natural chakra around them. This allows them to be a conductor of this chakra… providing the owner knows how to use Sage chakra. Do you understand so far?"

Naruto nodded thoughtfully, beginning to piece things together.

"Good. Before you can use this, however, you need to understand the sword. It is like a person; the Kogitsune-maru most likely has a gender, favourite weather, favourite colour etc. It is up to you to find everything she or he is willing to share; to connect with your sword so training with Sage chakra will be easier."

Naruto smiled then and nodded,

"So it's all about listening to the right things and responding to the heart of the Kogitsune?"

Fukasaku nodded and shut his eyes, proud that his explanation had got through somehow. When the sound of something being summoned sounded, he opened his eyes in confusion and frowned as he saw a white fox – no doubt one belonging to Inari – seated by the sword.

"Naruto…"

"So are you a boy or a girl? Actually I can check that one myself." Fukasaku winced as the teen attempted to lift the fox's hind leg and the fox latched onto his nose. A wail escaped Naruto's mouth and he dropped the fox's leg, neither noticing Fukasaku summon his staff.

"For the life of me, will you two please stand still?"

The pair looked at the toad and seated themselves instantly. The amphibian made a striking picture when he was angry and the pair suddenly felt like rebellious kids called in by Iruka for a lecture about moral codes and appropriate behaviour. Fukasaku turned to Naruto and sighed,

"This fox is a messenger. The only way to connect with your sword is to listen. I will leave you now for a few hours and I expect some form of progress to have been made."

At that point, both the fox and Fukasaku vanished; leaving Naruto and his sword. To the Namikaze, it seemed pointless. He had never been one to concentrate for long periods of time – training for the Rasengan had been proof enough for that – unless physical work was involved.

Though the toad had made it impossible to further his training without completing this stage so maybe…

Naruto looked at the sword and had a sudden desire to touch the metal, to explore every part of the sword. So he did just that; the metal was cool to the touch, oddly enough for it had been in his hands for a long time, and the handle moulded to his hand perfectly. Almost as if the sword was made for him.

With a sigh, Naruto closed his eyes and sat crossed legged, placing the sword in his lap. Although he knew he would feel utterly stupid for doing so, he touched the centre of the metal with a finger and thought in his head,

My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I wield you.

As he had expected, he received nothing in return. Naruto sighed and took his finger off of the metal. He was about to stand up when he heard a quiet voice, similar to the one when he had been with the Deities.

You do, do you? Just because I have been bestowed upon you does not mean you wield me. In fact I may not want to be taken upon whatsoever.

Naruto blinked and looked down at the metal. He was either hallucinating (possible as the fox had bitten him, were Inari's foxes poisonous?) or the sword was talking to him as Fukasaku had said. If the sword was talking to him then it was a moody bastard and-

Wait.

You have no say in the matter! You're a sword and therefore need to be wielded.

Naruto felt satisfied with himself; after all it wasn't often that you got to argue with the sword. He had never thought that the sword would be such a smart Alec.

So you're to wield me? Hm well something in that equation is wrong… maybe the part that I have more brain cells than you? Yes, that suffices nicely.

Naruto chocked on air and he stood, the sword clattering to the ground.

"Really? Well you're just a stupid hunk of imitation metal! They couldn't even be bothered to make you properly so you got shoved away at the back of the blacksmiths. Yeah."

Naruto then realised that this had to be one of the most embarrassing and uncomfortable moments in his life. Not only was he talking to a sword but – and here the hallucination theory crept back in again – he was arguing with it.

Sighing, Naruto sat back down again and brought the sword back onto his lap.

Okay, I get it. Obviously this is the part where I ask for your permission but I won't. I'm the Hokage of Konohagakure and I'm going to learn how to use Sage chakra. With or without you.

For a moment, Naruto was sure that he heard a chuckle in the back of his mind and he fell through darkness, opening his eyes to reveal the yellowed landscape in which the Kyuubi dwelt. This time there was no paw extending through the bars or a deep throaty growl. Instead, a large eye watched from the darkness of the cage and Naruto could make out the grey flecked muzzle of the ancient fox.

Naruto, you hold a very ancient sword in your hands. Would you explain to me why you are here before me?

Naruto looked to see the Kogitsune-maru in his hands and then looked at the Kyuubi.

"I don't know…"

The answer seemed to anger the Kyuubi and the Bijuu rose upwards, rippling the water around him. Naruto knew that the Kyuubi hated ignorance, Naruto was sure that Madara had a lot of it, ploughing with idiotic theories and shoving the fox in to do his dirty work, ending in the subsequent sealing of said fox, and hated to admit that he simply didn't know why he was there. He had assumed it was of the Kyuubi's doing.

Do you even understand what holding the sword means for you – for us?

At Naruto's silence the fox continued, seating back down so the red eye looked directly at him again.

It means, Naruto, that you have a better chance than any other Bijuu. The power of that sword there and my chakra means that you can destroy your enemies for good. Let the sword fall over here, I wish to see it.

Naruto felt the sword judder under his hold as the fox extended a huge paw through the bars. Three claws slid out slowly to take the sword and the Kyuubi waited, red eye flittering between Naruto and the Kogitsune-maru.

The Kyuubi had once been one of Inari's foxes so, by right, the fox should be given the chance to hold the sword. Yet it was the sword's sudden resistance and the red eye that prevented Naruto from passing the blade – his blade – over to the Kyuubi. There was something that he was missing and Naruto narrowed his eyes.

The Kyuubi wishes to alter the balance between me and the body I reside in. You already know the answer to the question, Naruto, Inari has already told you the answer.

Naruto remembered the time when the Deity had visited him and his mind cleared as his decision was clear.

Well?

"The sword itself is peaceful. If I allow you to touch it, you will taint the sword. You may have allowed yourself to become how you are but I will not allow you to infect anything else. The sword can choose, you probably still could if the time came."

The Kyuubi rose, a grown in his throat as Naruto turned to leave.

You're making a mistake, boy!

Naruto wheeled round and felt energy within the sword.

"Never," the Kyuubi stepped back from the ferocity in his Jinchuuriki's voice, "call me boy again." As he finished his words, Naruto drew upon the energy in the sword and it flowed through him. Again the huge fox took a step back as he realised what Naruto was about to do.

A kunai flew into the darkness of the Kyuubi's cage and breezed past his lower leg, cutting the skin slightly. It had been a long time since anyone had inflicted a wound upon the Kyuubi itself and he roared as the skin knitted itself together and the fur re-grew.

Naruto looked at the patch of fur in confusion and then up at the Kyuubi.

"It's white."

The fox closed its maw and looked down at the white patch before chuckling deeply.

So it is true; the sword really does contain Sage chakra. I'll congratulate you, boy, this once on your ability to draw it out in your anger. But remember; however much you and that sword want me to repent for what I have done, I won't. The only way in which I will do so will be to kill Madara. Offer me that and I'll never call you boy again.

Naruto turned away from the fox and walked away, sword in hand. It worried him that the Kyuubi was so against saving himself but, then again, the fox had little else to go on. Because of Madara, destruction was all he had known and all he would know.

Thank you Naruto.

Even though it was a sword, Naruto couldn't help but grin at the acknowledgement of his actions. Maybe the sword wasn't as bad as he had thought it was.

"This is all going to be a hallucination, isn't it?" Naruto muttered as he opened his eyes to the toad waterfall. All he had to do was wait for Fukasaku to return and he would know for sure.

 **認識**

Itachi had been flying for days until he decided to stop. He was wet, he was cold and the darkness of night was closing in. When he had passed the place where Kisame and Pein were staying – what seemed like weeks ago – he had overheard Pein saying that he was going to take the left side of Konoha whilst Kisame took the right. After five days of observation they were to meet back up and report to Madara.

That had been Saturday and today was Monday. Kisame, as he had heard, was alone and grumbling.

"Why does he get to choose what side? Who does he think he is…? God? Wait… he does."

Itachi landed on a tree overlooking Kisame and cocked his head. In truth he had missed Kisame; the man had been a constant presence and he had grudgingly grown fond of the man. Kisame had been loyal to Itachi and was quite clearly not to Pein.

"Hmmm? What's this? Another raven?" Kisame sighed and stood up, walking towards Itachi. "Just because I was partnered with the guy doesn't mean I like you birds, you know." Contrary to his words, Kisame reached out to scratch Itachi's neck and he paused.

"The others all flew off when I got this close. Why are you different, hm?"

Itachi froze and cawed. Kisame eyed the bird with suspicious eyes before walking back over to the growing fire.

"If I didn't know that the man was dead I would be sure that you were him. You carry yourself in the same way, same eyes and everything. If you can somehow get to him, tell him… tell Itachi that someone down on this hell misses him. Only don't make it sound corny, he'd kill me for that."

The bird cawed as Itachi smiled internally. He wanted nothing else but to show his form to Kisame but there was nothing he could do; if Kisame found out who he was then there was a chance that Madara would. After all, how loyal was Kisame to Madara?

Half an hour later, Itachi was presented a piece of meat that was cooked exactly how he liked it. He looked up to see Kisame smiling down at him and a jolt ran through his body.

"You know Itachi… I never would have thought that you'd make it out of death. Apparently you're the slippery one of us eh? I don't even think Madara or Pein would have been able to escape death as many times as you have. What happened?"

Itachi resigned himself to a sigh and morphed slowly. Kisame's eyes widened in surprise before he broke into a grin,

"You know, that's the first time I've seen you without the Sharingan on in a while."

Itachi frowned,

"You think I'm dead and the first thing you say is something idiotic like that?"

Kisame chuckled and for a moment, Itachi almost believed that the events of the past few months were little but a dream.

 **認識**

 **Omake**

 **認識**

(A week earlier, travelling to Konoha with Kisame and Pein)

Pein looked at Kisame with lazy eyes before deciding upon his slight brain cell decimation.

"I spy with my…" Kisame nodded, goading him on, "Er, my little eye. Something… red and blue."

Kisame frowned.

"Um, Pein-sama, you do know that that's technically not in the rules."

Pein glared at the man before replying, "Just guess."

Kisame scratched the back of his head and thought.

"The… tree over there?"

Pein shook his head and revealed his hand that had previously been buried in his cloak. His fingers were curled around the edge of a kunai and Kisame looked at it before stuttering a reply,

"O-okay, well then the… the flower that we saw a mile back?"

"Wrong." The kunai was released from his hand and the other five 'paths' of Pein winced sympathetically.

"It was a quiet Kisame," he muttered smugly before walking onwards.


	3. Chapter 3

**Condemn**

 **to pronounce to be guilty; sentence to punishment**

 **有罪の判決をする**

Itachi glanced over at Kisame for the fourth time since they had been reintroduced. The man had spoken not a word and it unnerved Itachi; usually Kisame could hardly contain the things he said and Itachi remembered more than one occasion that he had had to threaten the man.

"It's odd."

Itachi looked up and noticed how much older the man seemed. Kisame would be roughly thirty one by now and living a life as a Missing Nin had taken its toll on him. It was understandable, of course, with no true home to go back to, hardly any associates aside from the cold people who in the same space as you from time to time, and who would sooner kill you than be friends, or the enemies you killed.

"Everything's happening… first you die, then everything's thrown out of control, only for it to be part of the ultimate plan, Madara's really Tobi, and Tobi is really him, we're here to look at Konoha, your brother's off… your brother," Kisame's voice was suddenly cold, as if he had realised a terrible misfortune. Itachi supposed he had, the man wasn't an idiot and had to know that Itachi tried to prevent Madara getting to his brother.

Itachi inclined his head slightly and Kisame fell back until he was sprawled on the ground where he let out a low whistle.

"Everything's changed huh?"

"Yeah," Itachi replied quietly and closed his eyes. He wasn't stupid enough to reveal anything important – such as Naruto being the real Hokage – but he could allow for this short time to be comfortable.

The main human contact he'd had was Naruto and, though he loved the conversations with the blond and would never trade it for anything, Kisame had been part of his life in Akatsuki. Naruto knew what it felt like to be hunted and how to have everyone against you but he hadn't worn the same cloak.

Itachi wanted to reminisce on times before Naruto had brought him to his conclusions, a time when he was planning his death. Everything had been certain then and, even though life felt so much better with Naruto, humans often needed to be reminded that they have, or had, a constant time.

Itachi was no different.

"There are things that you won't tell me, I know that; we've been partners long enough for me to understand that but… will you tell me a little of what you've been up to? I'll-I'll tell you some things first."

Kisame was looking at Itachi with hopeful eyes and Itachi allowed a slight smile to cover his lips, ignoring the shocked look on his ex-partner's face.

"Whatever they did, they should be counted as a saint. I've never seen you even close to a smile before Itachi."

Itachi looked over and shrugged. He positioned his weight backwards so that he was a little more comfortable and waited for Kisame to speak. Itachi knew that Kisame knew he wouldn't speak until he deemed whatever the elder had said worthy and, secretly, Itachi was desperate to know what had happened since he had gone.

It was strange, being on the 'other team', so to speak. Before, Itachi always knew what the opposition would do because he was part of that opposition. Now he was working with the side he had always been rooting for, protecting, yet he was left in the dark. All he could hope to do now was to guess Madara's actions and get as much out of Kisame as possible.

"I left Kirigakure because of the way it was run. Don't get me wrong, I'm a sucker for anything shiny and with blood inclusive but everything about the village was stifling. I'm sure you understand that Itachi. Even for me there's a level of brutality I can take. There's a thin line between respect and loathing and the man who accepted the slaughter that was taking place held no respect in our eyes. That's how the Seven Swordsmen were formed. We were sick of being treated like dogs by a man who wanted the world on a platter. Not that he knew that, of course, we weren't stupid enough to tell him. "

Itachi nodded. He had never expected Kisame to explain why he had left the Mist but apparently it had something to do with the situation they were in.

"The Mizukage was a harsh man back then and… I probably shouldn't tell you but Tobi, Madara, whatever he goes by was the Mizukage."

Itachi started suddenly and looked at Kisame, the Sharingan now re-activated. Kisame watched the dark haired man warily yet Itachi merely remained stark upright.

Could Madara really have been that against Konoha that he would build a completely new village – a bloody village – just to spite Konoha? It was true that the Mist was ruthless and encouraged the level of violence but could the man who had been the second candidate for the Shodai seat of Konoha really have created a new village just for the sake of it?

Obviously there was something that he was missing but… what?

"Pein's on the rampage, I think Madara fuddled up his God complex. Watch out for him… you know, I actually have nothing against Konoha. Quite a pretty village, you know, nice scenery with all these trees… plenty of oxygen and-"

"Kisame, stop stalling."

Kisame sighed; Itachi knew him too well. Whenever he had avoided announcing something to anyone other than Itachi – for the dark haired male always seemed to invoke the truth every time aside from this encounter – he would blabber on about random subjects that really had nothing to do with the actual topic he was supposed to be talking about. It made him look like an idiot but worked for stalling.

"Madara got your little brother, you know. I don't know why he wanted him specifically but there's something there. "Kisame sat back upright and ran his hands through his hair, pulling the cloth and Hitae-ate from his forehead. "You know what, Itachi; remember when you came to the Akatsuki?" Kisame laughed and Itachi looked up.

"Where's the connection Kisame?"

Kisame looked up at the night sky before speaking quietly,

"You were still a kid, Itachi, just a kid that had got lost. Sasuke's the same; he doesn't understand anything about the Akatsuki even though he's off collecting the Hachibi. He doesn't even know you're alive Itachi, even though he knows the truth. He'd listen to you, I know he wou-"

"I cannot call Sasuke my brother anymore, Kisame. I have been a terrible brother to him and I do not deserve to be known to him by any connection. Sasuke has to live how he wants, I'm giving him up."

Kisame stood up suddenly, furious.

"That's bullshit Uchiha and you know it. I could turn you in you know, how Madara would be pleased that this mission uncovered more than news about the same Hokage. I don't know what history there is with him and you but there's something and I'm pretty sure his plans would be screwed – as well as yours – if this news reached his ears."

Itachi rose to meet Kisame's challenge and allowed the Sharingan to rotate slightly.

"Is that a threat Hoshigaki?"

Kisame pushed his chest out a bit and stared down at Itachi. The pair remained locked like that for three long seconds before Kisame broke down into laughter and Itachi smirked. Itachi tilted his head down yet looked up in surprise and he felt a hand planted in the strands of hair.

"Don't make me worry again, kid."

Itachi winced as Kisame ruffled his hand and watched the man sit back down. Their connection now was deeper than it had been before; before his death, Itachi would never have allowed Kisame to touch his hand even and now the sword wielder was obviously not afraid to show the little affection he felt towards his ex-partner.

"I have been observing Konoha," Itachi said after a brief silence.

Kisame's head bobbed up and Itachi noticed a few strands of hair falling onto his forehead. Obviously the man hadn't expected an answer from him and Itachi closed his eyes as he smirked.

"From within?"

Itachi frowned, "I cannot say that Kisame. You have to understand that."

Kisame shrugged and pulled the sword from behind him on the ground, laying it across his lap.

"Hey, do you remember when that kid tried to take a hold of Samehada? He got some pretty nasty scars didn't he?"

Itachi raised an eyebrow and nodded to the man's forearm. His cloak had slipped up a little bit and it revealed a fresh wound, one that couldn't be more than two weeks old. Kisame frowned and pulled his sleeve down before muttering,

"Problems with my new partner; turns out he likes games less than you."

Itachi looked up at the sky and sighed. Pein would be the one to do something to someone who was supposed to be working with him; the few times that Itachi had come into physical contact with the man hadn't been pleasant.

Of course he hadn't laid a hand on Itachi but the words were enough, taunting the Sharingan and flashing off the higher Doujutsu. In Itachi's opinion the man was an attention seeking child who needed to go and get some sense knocked into him. At least, that was the toned down, politer version of his thoughts.

"I wish I was a star."

Itachi glanced over to his companion with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"I know it's in my name… but to be a real star, no worries, all you have to do is burn."

Itachi followed Kisame's gaze to the stars and spoke quietly, unsure is Kisame would be able to hear him,

"To burn so brightly… what would the cost be?"

If Kisame had heard, he said nothing; only continuing to stare upwards into the dotted abyss.

 **有罪の判決をする**

Sasuke cursed; the Jinchuuriki wasn't meant to be this strong. Or so willed to win. He was supposed to fight, yes, spectacularly… yes, but not to the point where Sasuke could actually die. He had to thank Karin for that; she was spectacularly useful in battle.

The man was huge and exceptionally talented with his blades; he had never known any human to use so many in one go.

Except this man was hardly human. He was a cursed soul, a shell for the Bijuu he contained. Without the demon inside of him, he would be nothing. It was the same for all of them; if Naruto hadn't had the Kyuubi then he would be dead – from Sasuke's hand.

If Gaara hadn't had the Ichibi then he would never have been feared or made Kazekage. There were so many political issues concerning the Jinchuuriki; games of fear and loathing. No one liked a Jinchuuriki, in honesty, because everyone was constantly looking over their shoulder to see if the demon would emerge.

At least, this was what Sasuke tried to convince himself. After all, these people the Akatsuki were gathering had to be wrong somehow; there had to be something bad about them, something that needed fixing. The Akatsuki were doing a favour to the world, taking the abnormalities of society and ridding them of the loneliness their presence caused, ending the plague of their existence.

They couldn't just be humans because then all of this, all of the Akatsuki goals, the goals that Sasuke was now committed to, would be mere murder. These people were aware that the Akatsuki were after them so they would, naturally, retaliate. After all, no wild animal wanted to be captured and caged like the Bijuu were to be. The animal – the human – would offer all resistance it could and do as much harm to escape from harm.

Not that Sasuke and Falcon would be causing harm; they were doing a favour to these half-humans. The Akatsuki were doing them a favour… why was it only Sasuke who saw this? The other members of the group were either there for the after effects of the gathered Bijuu, or there because Sasuke was and they had little other option.

Sasuke could remember the loneliness that Naruto radiated and how it had soaked through everything he had come into contact with. The Uchiha was sure that once the tailed beasts were all collected then they would destroy themselves – or something – and it would free the world from the drenching feelings that the Jinchuuriki passed on; their curses.

Madara had told him that the Bijuu were given to each nation as a peace offering… what rubbish; giving a monster supply of chakra to a country was anything but peaceful. In the end, the country that had gotten the Kyuubi (which was, without saying, obviously Konoha) would always be seen as the most powerful country. The Kyuubi no Kitsune held the highest number of tails and was, therefore, the most powerful. Even contained to a Jinchuuriki this would be true and Hashirama must have been laughing as he passed on the others, knowing full well that they would, in the end, be bowing down to Konoha.

Which was why the Akatsuki were needed; the world needed to be cleansed of these rotten beasts, these rotten people. If there was no power struggle for the nine then there would be no reason to fight. Of course there were other reasons for war – there always would be with so many different ideas in the world – but people would no longer have to live in fear of faceless, nameless people in clouded cloaks who were hunting them.

If the Bijuu no longer existed then people like Naruto could walk free, have a life and be able to live it. Sure Naruto was happy in Konoha but he would never make Hokage. The people of Konoha would run in fear at the prospect of a demon being their ruler; they would revolt and wars would plague Konoha's streets once more.

If there was one thing he had learnt from Madara following Itachi's death it was that war was a horrible thing.

Although the fighter side of Sasuke craved for it, hungered for the warfare and excitement it would bring, the logical side – the side he actually listened to – told him that it was best to protect the stability of the village above all else.

So it was a good thing that, on this occasion, Sasuke discounted his logical side and disagreed with his brother's goals. Itachi was a pacifist because of his childhood and Sasuke was an avenger because of his. Sasuke had been made into who he was by Itachi's peaceful actions and there was no going back on that. He would get his revenge upon the people who knew, the faces who had spoken to him as a child and offered kind words, all the time knowing that they had exacted the order for his family's execution.

Itachi was out of the picture; he had exacted revenge upon the brother who had abandoned him and that was that. Itachi was a corpse, a rotting hunk of flesh that was pointless in thinking about. Nothing could bring him back and Sasuke knew this.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to see his aniki, the brother who had cared, one more time would it? Yet that was all in the past, washed away along with the rest of the dirt that Sasuke left behind. He would always have his memories, the real ones, of Itachi and could see them clearly thanks to the Sharingan… even though it wasn't the same as a real person.

He would never be able to clamber on Itachi's back, whining about his ankle, discuss Shinobi techniques and Konoha's politics, as he had assumed they would do when they were older – back when he was younger. All of that had been ripped away by monsters, and Itachi had joined the monsters in death.

Sasuke tilted his head upwards to stare at the man leaning over him and kicked out with a leg before scrambling backwards like some pathetic animal. If this was how strong the eight-tailed Jinchuuriki could be then how strong would Naruto be if he reached his proper potential?

Not that Sasuke would be the one to gather the Uzumaki; after all, Madara had made it pretty clear that he wanted to collect the Kyuubi. Sasuke just had to find a way in which to get to Naruto, accept the Kyuubi no Kitsune's offer and wage war against Konoha, the town of lies. If he could decimate Orochimaru's favoured hideouts then, with a Jinchuuriki in his hands, he could turn the prosperous, filthy village he had called home into rubble.

Sasuke squinted as the man backed off and the sun shone into his eyes.

It all led back to Konoha, he mused. Konoha was the place where the Bijuu had been traded off to other places, where the wild animals had first been caged and both the village and the beasts were corrupted things that needed to be cleansed. Sasuke twisted his arm underneath himself and rolled out of the way as Suigetsu fell towards him, after receiving a back hand from the Jinchuuriki.

"Fuck he's strong."

Sasuke felt his head nodding and his eyes narrowed; how many more times would his body betray him?

As his eyes drifted upwards again he noticed a cloud shift to reveal the blue sky. What was Naruto doing now? Would he too be looking up to the sky? Or was he shut up somewhere, under lock and key so the Akatsuki wouldn't get to him. He had to know – by now – that his mentor was dead… how would he feel? For a strange reason, Sasuke hoped that he had been able to cope. The image of tears flowing down scarred cheeks-

Sasuke flew back, deservingly, as he was smacked in the face.

"No daydreaming, boy, how else would I deserve my whiskey? I told 'ya that I didn't want a fight if 'ya just turn out t'be chumps." The beast shifted his weight from foot to foot, a glint entering his eye as he looked at Sasuke.

"You know what… I really fancy that whiskey now." He flexed his arms and Sasuke stood slowly, getting ready to unfurl the Amaterasu if needed. He hadn't perfected the control, in fact he needed to recall the feel of Madara's chakra to activate it, but he could do it, if only for a short time.

"I'm gonna teach 'ya kids that if you wanna mess with the big guys… well 'ya gonna get more than a little boo-boo that's for sure."

As the man placed his hands together, Sasuke closed his right eye and prepared for the rush of fire that would burn up from his stomach. All he had to do now was wait for the man to move and then he could strike in all his viper glory.

 **有罪の判決をする**

Itachi shuddered as a cool wind passed through the area they were in. He glanced at Kisame and noticed the man was still asleep. They had been together for two days now and in three more, maybe less, Itachi would be leaving and Pein would return. Their short encounter would be remembered by both parties yet Itachi knew that he couldn't completely trust the man.

In all honesty, he didn't know what he was still doing here. He should be back in Konoha with Tsunade, going over what to do if there was an attack soon and what not. Yet for some unbelievable reason, all that Konoha represented without Naruto was the list of failures Itachi had accumulated.

The one that he thought was concrete; the promise he should have made Madara swear upon his life and sign with some form of life-binding contract; the little matter of 'leave Konoha alone'… which had obviously been ignored.

Itachi wondered what Madara was thinking now, what his plans with Sasuke were. If Madara had wanted Sasuke's Sharingan then surely the man would've already made his move. From what Kisame had revealed, Itachi was sure that Sasuke was safe, for now. It appeared that Madara had no intention of doing anything to him yet but it would only be a matter of time; the man was a sick freak and Itachi knew that from personal experience.

"Nnh, Itachi? You up?"

Itachi rolled his eyes and murmured a good morning. Kisame grunted in response and fell back onto the ground, head hitting the floor with a dull thud.

"What do you want to do today?"

Itachi shrugged his shoulders, remaining in his contemplative silence. Kisame caught the hint and sighed.

"You know, you've changed a lot. If I didn't know better, I'd say that you'd got yourself laid or something."

Itachi stiffened and Kisame chuckled.

"Who's the lucky girl eh? Or, dare I say it, guy?"

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed heavily before opening them to reveal the Sharingan. It was funny really; all the time he had spent with Naruto, he had barely used the Sharingan. Less than a week with Kisame and already he had used it at least ten times. It was either because he was more irritable now, guarding as many secrets as before and even more protective of them, or that Kisame was bolder in questioning. Before he had left the Akatsuki, Kisame would never have commented on Itachi sex life, and now it appeared it was the topic-of-the-day.

"Okay I won't speak of it again. Geez, can't you just relax about subjects like that."

Itachi obliged and sighed;

"I'm expecting a lecture when I return."

Kisame grunted and Itachi answered the question behind the noise.

"Let's just say that someone was caught."

Kisame chuckled deeply and Itachi scowled, turning away from the man. So maybe he shouldn't have revealed that particular slice of cake but it just felt right to talk about things like this with Kisame. Itachi had been starved of company such as this – a loud, brash friend who didn't give a monkey's behind about anything – and was enjoying just being.

He loved spending time with Naruto and the company he kept with his was something far more special than anything he had even had, would ever had but there were times when you just needed the edge that Kisame offered, an idiot with a beaming smile (when he wasn't using it to threaten people) and a man who would understand the need for jokes and silly comments now and again.

"Would you ever leave the Akatsuki?"

Kisame's chuckles broke off and the elder surveyed Itachi with thoughtful eyes.

"You know me, Itachi. I'm loyal to the point of suicide… besides, what country would take the Monster of the Mist eh? Heh, think real Itachi; you can't redeem everyone."

Itachi started at the choice of words before thinking back in his mind.

"Please Itachi… I know I can't save Sasuke but I can save you."

Those words… Naruto had spoken them so long ago – except it wasn't that long ago, not really – and he had refused. Itachi hadn't been able to understand Naruto's emotions at that point but now, maybe now, he could.

"Kisame I-"

Kisame cut him off with a hand and shook his head.

"I'm used to this corruption. The Akatsuki's corrupt, Kirigakure's corrupt… hell I'd believe that every Shinobi was corrupt. No one can save us, Itachi and no one wants to be saved. You could offer your salvation to every Tom, Dick and Harry yet not one, not a single damned one, would take it." Kisame looked Itachi in the eye for the first time since they had known each other.

"And you want to know why?" Itachi inclined his head slowly, coal eyes never leaving Kisame's face.

"Because we're all going to hell either way. Your salvation, your redemption, is cursed Itachi. How can someone who will join us in hell save us all? You'd have to be a fool to believe something like that and I know you, you're no fool. The Akatsuki is said to remove beasts from this world but it's not the first time that I've thought it's merely a power play; the stronger monsters dominating the weaker ones. We're just monsters, foolish monsters that'll end up in the deepest pit."

Kisame outstretched an arm to clasp on Itachi's shoulder, but the dark haired male shrugged him off and turned his back.

"Don't… don't say that." Itachi could feel Kisame start with the force of his words but he didn't care; he had to say what he needed to now. He felt young, unsure of how exactly to stand up and this was the truth. Itachi would be fighting for his own thoughts this time, unrehearsed conversations and a cause that wasn't just for someone else.

"You can dismiss what I've offered you, but don't curse the others who are willing to give it a go. Some people would rather their own lives be spent in darkness, for every action they take to be misread and prejudged for an action they took earlier and allowed to be labelled wrongly, than others to get hurt. Do you understand that? Can you understand that?"

Kisame was silent and Itachi's eyes desperately looked into dark blue irises, searching for something.

"No," he murmured gently after a moment and tore his gaze away from the taller figure. "No, no you can't. You can't because you don't understand Kisame… I doubt you ever will."

Kisame watched as Itachi hung his head for a second before looking upwards. He took a step back, knowing full well what the man would do next; he would leave without a word and it was fine by Kisame.

True to his thoughts, Itachi morphed; cloak turning into ebony feathers and grazing over each other as the raven launched its large body into the air. Kisame watched until the dark blob swooped down between the buildings that made up Konoha's streets and barely noticed the sadness welling up in his chest. He knew it would be the last time he saw the Uchiha and his farewell rose across the wind, vanishing much like the connection between the two partners had a few moments earlier.

 **有罪の判決をする**

Tsunade barely looked up as she heard the clatter of wings and hid the smile on her face that Itachi had returned. She waited until the human form of the Uchiha stood before her and her eyes widened at the state of him.

For one, his hood was down and it revealed his face perfectly. Tsunade knew without saying that Uchiha Itachi was an attractive man; she probably would have taken a liking to him if she was younger and not still grieving for Jiraiya. His skin now, however, was sallow and a sickly pale yellow colour. Huge dark circles overtook his eyes and she had to admit that she had never seen anyone look so close to exhaustion and still be functioning as well as Itachi was, even in her time as a medic nin.

"Itachi…"

The man seemed to snap out of his thoughts and that inquisitive look crept into her eyes.

"How are you?"

Tsunade smiled as he blinked and pushed a glass of untouched water towards him.

"You look like you could use a good drink and a meal. My treat, I'll get Shizune to buy us something and we can talk about what we've both been up to eh?"

Itachi nodded slowly and took the glass, remembering what happened with the last drink he had held in the Hokage's office. It wasn't long before a plastic container of ramen was pushed under his nose and he looked at the Hokage's beaming face.

"I've been in contact with Fukasaku these past few days. Although he doesn't retract his statement about what will happen, he does say that you have done a lot for Naruto… in particular helping him to acquire a Deities' sword. What one does he claim possession of?"

Itachi looked at her blankly before breaking the chopsticks in half and picking up some of the noodles with them.

"The Kogitsune-maru, I believe. I carry the sword of Totsuka; it was to collect him that we returned to the Floating Bridge of Heaven. Orochimaru wasn't best pleased when he learnt that the sword he craved was under his nose."

Tsunade nodded in interest as she too began to devour her food. All the time she watched Itachi, noticing the little movements that showed he was nervous about something.

"Itachi? Is something wrong?"

Itachi's eyes snapped up and they bored into Tsunade's own. She felt her pulse increase and her eyes widen under the stare; she felt completely exposed, almost as if Itachi knew of everything she had ever done.

"Salvation…"

It was so quiet that Tsunade wasn't sure if it was just her imagination or if Itachi had really spoken.

"To choose salvation one would need to know of the consequences…"

Tsunade waited patiently as Itachi continued in a monotone.

"Yet if these consequences only act upon one person, someone who doesn't mind, then can they chose the damnation? Not everyone can be saved, Tsunade, but it's just a question about choosing the right people… the right people to save."

Tsunade felt a jolt pass though her as Itachi placed the empty cup of ramen on the desk and frowned slightly.

"The question is, Tsunade-sama… am I worth saving, or would it be acceptable to condemn myself?"

 **Plea**

 **an appeal or entreaty: a plea for mercy**

 **嘆願**

The fire coiled inside of his stomach and Sasuke felt his left eye splinter into pain as his vision clouded and sparks split from his body. The fire travelled its way upwards, through his chakra paths, and then finally out of his eye as the Jinchuuriki began to call upon the chakra of whatever beast was inside of him.

Sasuke fought to control the black fire, yet it did not wield to his ownership. The fire travelled towards the Jinchuuriki too soon – Sasuke had wanted to release the technique exactly when the Bijuu's powers had been – and the man finished his hand seal sequence whilst twisting his body through the air in an attempt to avoid the black flames. If Itachi had been the one controlling the Amaterasu then it would have undoubtedly connected with flesh, beginning the unstoppable burning path it was born to take.

The Amaterasu failed then, however, and the flames died out as Sasuke lost a hold of it. He cursed under his breath and panted, watching for the Jinchuuriki's next move. There was one more thing he could do; he had been able to see the Kyuubi from within Naruto so maybe he would be able to see this monster, bend it to his will and reshape the chakra's order.

It took five seconds and, in those five seconds, he was aware of the remainder of Falcon gathering round him. Obviously they knew what he was going to do and were covering him in order to gain the upper hand.

Sasuke closed his eyes briefly as he felt the Mangekyou activate and reopened them to see the man bowed down to a temple. As with Naruto, there was a cage within the temple space and Sasuke wondered what animal was there. It wasn't as dark - or wet - as the space containing the Kyuubi was, and there was almost an air of harmony; a dangerous sign as it could lead to the Host and Beast being able to synchronise amazingly well.

"How did you get in here?"

The man was on his feet now, looking squarely at the Uchiha. Sasuke merely brushed him off and walked towards the huge bars, curious as to what lay behind.

"Uchiha Sasuke, how delightful to finally meet you."

Sasuke looked into the darkness at the deep voice and tilted his head slightly.

"How do you know my name?"

The creature in the darkness chuckled and Sasuke heard the Jinchuuriki approach beside him. The man sat down with his back resting upon the bars and watched Sasuke with a hint of a smirk on his face.

"Although the Kyuubi may deny it, I am the closest to him in tails and therefore the closest to him spiritually. We have a connection, of sorts, which allows us to feel whatever the other one feels; it works throughout the whole nine of us so we know what has been coming, where the others are. The only Bijuu I feel now is the Kyuubi, the others are just masses of chakra that have been mixed and are waiting to be unleashed.

"Furthermore, I know of the Kyuubi's connection with Uchihas and he allowed us to feel their chakra in case we happened upon one. The Kyuubi doesn't forgive Madara for what he did, you know, and any Uchiha is an enemy to the fox."

Sasuke resisted the urge to frown as he recalled that Madara had passed off the issue with Kyuubi as nothing more than a misunderstanding. Was it simply a misunderstanding, or had Madara been hiding things purposefully, bending Sasuke to his will?

"The Kyuubi has been busy recently, mixing his chakra with the Uchihas. Of course it is an automatic thing really, but the Jinchuuriki has the power to suppress it and he hasn't... which means that there may be an Uchiha who is in the favour of the Kyuubi. Imagine that eh? But I'm digressing here, what I really wish to know is why you are here."

Sasuke ignored the Hachibi's taunts – after all the only Uchihas left were Madara and himself and there was no way that Madara would ever win the favour of the Kyuubi after whatever he did – and placed it down to the nature of the tailed beasts. They weren't honest; the beasts were filthy liars that would do anything to save their own skin.

"I know why you're here, boy. You believe you have the ability to suppress my chakra because you could to the Kyuubi."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and planted his feet squarely as yellow chakra began to leak out of the cage, pooling around him. Sasuke looked into the darkness, searching for some form of an animal to focus his Sharingan on. A movement caught his eyes and he grinned. The Jinchuuriki stood up suddenly and Sasuke felt himself being dragged back to the living world.

His eyes focused on Karin's back as she was pushed out of the way by the Jinchuuriki. His eyes were a bright yellow and a buzzing surrounded him. It took Sasuke three seconds to realise that yellow chakra formed a coating around him and, in those three seconds, it took two to realise something had just hit him.

His chest exploded in pain and his arm hung limply. Chidori would be useless now and he would most likely bleed to death unless he got to Karin quickly. He looked over to survey the rest of his team; Karin was trying to get up from underneath a pile of rocks, Suigetsu was standing in front of the Jinchuuriki, looking uncertainly at the man, and Juugo had his head bowed down a little to the side of Suigetsu.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke's head throbbed as he fell backwards and he saw the sky shift. It took him a moment to realise that it was not the sky shifting but his own eyes. A weak cough escaped him as the blood on his chest began to bubble; had the beast cut into his lung or wind pipe?

"Stay still, Suigetsu's distracting that monster."

Was that the Jinchuuriki or the beast? The host was a human and the beast was the monster. Yet the beast was hidden inside the human and didn't they always say that people kept their true selves hidden deep inside? So it was true then that Suigetsu was taking on the Bijuu – the human form of the monster.

But what exactly was a monster? Was it something that haunted young children in the dark? There were certainly plenty of those types of monsters; Sasuke had played host to the monsters of his own mind plaguing him, blood seeping down every wall in his dreams after Itachi had killed the Clan.

Been forced to kill, Sasuke corrected.

Then there were the monsters that were vanquished in children's story books, heros rescuing a damsel and returning to be the town hero, the whole population flooding the streets and launching the hero on their shoulders, congratulating and cheering.

Then there were the humans, the monsters who his behind a human skin and a clever mind. These were perhaps the most deadly of all monsters, nurturing your trust until you believe that they are the furthest thing from a monster, before ripping everything from under your feet and abandoning you.

Itachi was a forced monster.

"I'll channel my chakra and flesh into him, you rest Karin. You've already healed him once and I think it's my turn to help."

Sasuke couldn't help the scream that escaped his mouth as a burning sensation coated the wound. It hurt more than anything he had experienced before and his vision erupted into millions of fuzzy white dots.

"Hold on Sasuke, it'll only hurt for a little while more."

Something felt like it was growing over the wound, the fire spreading onwards to cover the top of his arm. A fizzing yellow substance began to seep out of the wound and Sasuke heard Juugo call for Karin.

"Contain this chakra before it does any more damage."

The sensation of something being pulled from Sasuke's chest was an uncomfortable experience and left him gasping, his vision turning blurry round the edges. He was aware of his legs and usable hand twitching under the attention he was receiving and he could feel blood collating at the back of his throat. The searing pain increased as he was roughly hauled up and hit harshly on the back, dislodging the blood in his mouth and forcing him to spit it out.

"There's too much chakra for me to handle alone, what shall I do with the spare chakra?"

Silence was all that greeted Sasuke's ears until he heard a low rumble. His eyes lazily roamed over to where Suigetsu was standing, just finishing reforming his body from the pool where his legs should be, to see his mouth open and eyes wide. Sasuke felt his eyelids begin to droop yet forced himself to look over to where the Jinchuuriki should be, only to find a huge monster standing where the human should have been.

"It's out..."

Something cool soothed over the burning and the fire over Sasuke's chest was extinguished. He looked down to see that his skin was red and blood was still visible over the scarring, for that was what was visible; a huge, ugly scar that stretched from his left shoulder and down to just under his right nipple in a diagonal blotch of a line.

The eight tailed demon-ox shook its horned head and bellowed out a war cry. Sasuke rose steadily with a pounding in his ears yet it was not the pain of a headache that sent his legs moving towards the beast; it was his own heartbeat playing out the drums of war that would bring this monster to its knees, under Sasuke's full control.

 **嘆願**

The training was going well; at least it was to Naruto. He was now successfully learning how not to turn into the frog thanks to the blasted staff Fukasaku insisted on using. Since the meeting with the Kyuubi, the Kogitsune-maru had been silent, yet Naruto had hardly expected the sword to speak to him day in, day out... it was a sword.

All he had to do was focus his mind on the world around him, drawing upon the power that was within everything. Knowing how to spot a chakra signature of a fellow Shinobi was a skill that was useful here and Naruto had used this to first pinpoint the whereabouts of Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, Gamabunta and the elderly Sage couple. That had been the easiest bit but Naruto then moved on to feeling the plants around him. After all, they were still living, respiring creations and their chakra was easier to focus upon than say... a rock's.

It was amazing really; everything in this little area had been here, undisturbed, for centuries. Of course people had come here before but the only claim to their appearance was the looming frog statues, warning others that the Sage arts weren't to be treated lightly. The whole world move, yes, but this little patch remained at a constant, a peaceful, lull; ignoring the battling world's call.

Naruto remembered a time when he was drawn to such a battle call, allowing the red chakra to destroy any semblance of a human. Naruto would never forgive himself for acting in the Kyuubi's shroud, yet there was nothing he could do to redeem himself in that area, apart from hold the fox's influence back. The fox was his burden, and his alone. If Naruto could not carry the weight alone then he would find a way to destroy the load and himself.

Naruto's sword wielding hand cramped up suddenly and he dropped the Kogitsune-maru. The sensation of hot iron poured into Naruto's veins and he cradled the affected arm to his chest, gritting his teeth together to stop the pain from mounting.

In an instant, it was gone and Naruto looked down in worry; no pain just vanished so had his arm fallen off? Nope, the arm was still there yet it was numb. Naruto attempted to flex his fingers yet nothing happened and his eyes grew wide.

A speck of red appeared in the centre of his hand and stretched upwards in a line to the crease of his elbow. The red chakra moved outwards like ink on wet paper and formed the shape of a fox, the Kyuubi no Kitsune to be exact. Naruto winced as the chakra moved round the underside of his arm – to the more sensitive skin – and pointed itself to form nine lashing tails.

When the chakra stopped moving, Naruto looked at the perfect resemblance to the Kyuubi and groaned loudly; the chakra began seeping back into his skin where it had settled, burning the skin into the pattern of the fox. When it was over, Naruto was curled on the floor next to his sword with his arm cradled to his chest once more. Not even a whimper of pain came from his lips but the pain was not over and Naruto knew it.

It was why he refused to move; if he moved then he would stretch the skin and that would cause an eruption of pain. What he needed now was for the Kyuubi to heal the burn yet that wasn't going to happen. Whatever had just happened, Naruto knew that it had been due to the Kyuubi's influence.

In order to understand what had just happened to him, Naruto needed to see the one who had made this mark and he only knew of one way. With that thought in mind, Naruto raised his head before smashing it back down to the ground, hard enough to make an impression upon the hard earth. His vision swam and Naruto smiled as he crept into unconsciousness. He had learnt long ago that if he had enough willpower he could do almost anything, even overcome the boundaries his own body placed upon itself.

His head was tilted to the side when Naruto opened his eyes and he lifted his soaked body from the water. Rivulets dripped from his hair and made their path down his face yet Naruto paid no heed. Here, his arm did not hurt and he noticed that there was no mark visible.

"What have you done?"

Naruto noticed the glow as the Kyuubi's eye open and looked directly at him.

A reminder to who you contain, and what your purpose is. If you would accept my power then there would be no need for that mark but, as you have declined it many times it seems there is no other option. I did not want to do this, Naruto, but my choices were limited.

Naruto frowned into the cage as the huge fox shuffled.

"What exactly is the 'this' that you are referring to."

A dark chuckle accompanied the fox's breathing and Naruto couldn't help but start a little.

"The mark that is on your arm will serve as a reminder to what you have to do. You did not allow me access to the sword before but through that mark I will remind you that my goal, our goal, is to destroy Madara. Though you may draw up energy using your Sage Chakra, you cannot rely on this, because you will move. If you cannot use Sage Chakra, you need to know that my chakra is there."

Naruto stroked his wrist absentmindedly, pondering over the Kyuubi's words.

"They are obtaining the Hachibi as we speak, Naruto. We shall be next."

Naruto looked at the fox properly for the first time in his life and noticed the bloodshot eyes and the dark creases on the animal's face. The fox was still just that; a fox, one of Inari's foxes to be exact. The Rokudaime glanced down at the Bijuu's leg to see the streak of white fur where the Sage Chakra had spilt blood. Had the Kyuubi once been a pure white like the messenger foxes?

"I don't know about you, but I do not wish to die. Do not let us die, Naruto."

With that, the fox rose and walked to the darkness of the seal, concealed from Naruto entirely.

Naruto stood there, looking where the Kyuubi's eye had been and closed his eyes. The way the Kyuubi had spoken that last sentence... it had been an order, but why did it sound so much like a plea?

 **嘆願**

Sasuke looked down at the man sprawled on the floor. It had been a heavy battle, one where each member of Falcon had given it their all – and more – in order to obtain Madara's prize. Suigetsu was next to Juugo, holding his head slightly up as blood gargled from the wound in his side.

The wound itself was fairly shallow, it was the damage it had caused. Karin had confirmed that there had been a degree of internal rupturing, part of the gut scratched by the chakra used to inflict it, and a few ribs had cracked. At the moment Karin was focusing her chakra reserves while Suigetsu took hold of Juugo's jaw, ready to bite on an offered arm.

"He'll need a lot of rest, I doubt that I can heal it all. There is also risk of infection, and we need to be careful that is isn't reopened anytime soon. When we get back to... well, he'll need stitching up. I suggest we proritise the mission Juugo risked himself for first and then heal him up full."

Sasuke looked over at Karin and nodded his head.

"It's a path we can all take. Juugo chose to collide with the monster and in doing so he probably saved our lives. Without him, we would not have been victorious, that is a simple fact. Without Juugo... the Jinchuuriki was moments from cleaving off more than one head."

Suigetsu finally let Juugo's jaw drop, hoisting the unconscious body on his back, balanced next to the cracked sword, and stood up to join the other two members of the team.

"What do we do now?"

Sasuke tilted his head wearily and closed his eyes. All he wanted to do was sleep. Get clean and then sleep away the weariness and the memories of Juugo's smiling face as he mouthed his possible last words of luck to Sasuke. There was a high chance Juugo wouldn't wake; he had pushed himself to get inbetween Sasuke and the Jinchuuriki, and Karin had quietly whispered that he wouldn't be waking up any time soon; a coma.

Sasuke didn't deserve them. He didn't deserve to be anything to anyone, let alone the person someone protected, threw their life away for. It was an honesty that Sasuke had finally accepted, and he would admit it; Juugo reminded him of Naruto.

Both of them were confident and wary of the power they contained; for Naruto it was the Kyuubi and for Juugo it was the power of the Cursed Seal. Juugo only respected Sasuke because of what Kimimaro, his sole precious person, had said about the Uchiha and Naruto respected Sasuke because he was one of his closest friends.

Or at least had been.

Staring down at the half-dead body of the Bijuu, Sasuke could see it easily; the man could so easily be Naruto, almost too easily be him. The Jinchuuriki's arms and legs were splayed out where he had fallen and his head was face down in the dirt. The ruined temple lay behind him and Sasuke took in the resemblance to the one in his seal.

Crouching down, Sasuke pushed the man's head so that the Uchiha could see his face. The face was dirt; streaks of blood covered his cheeks and the tattoos while mud droplets flecked his forehead. Sasuke remembered how the man had bragged about this and that and almost laughed at the irony. The man who had thought of himself as being so mighty, so strong, had fallen and would never rise again.

Could he allow this to happen to Naruto? He had turned his back on Konoha a long time ago and the village was little but rubble in his mind after he learnt how it had treated Itachi and the Uchiha clan, but did that mean that the people inside were as equally corrupted?

Yet Naruto wanted to be a Hokage. A fruitless dream as Konoha would be destroyed before Tsunade even got a chance to elect the Rokudaime but he would fight. Naruto would fight for Konoha, not knowing what the village did, what the village represented to Sasuke and Madara.

What would Naruto's reaction be to Madara? With the influence of the Kyuubi, one would expect him to be angry and yet when Madara had told Sasuke of Konoha's meeting with Tobi, Naruto hadn't been as angry as he should have been.

Could Naruto finally have gained a degree of control on his inner demon? It seemed impossible yet if it was true... if it was true then the full power of the Kyuubi no Kitsune would not be allowed to be taken lightly.

Could a Jinchuuriki work fully alongside their burden? Nii Yugito and the Nibi no Nekomata had been the closest, and this Jinchuuriki, but would Naruto manage it? The Kyuubi was a dominant predator and used to having control how he wanted it. If Naruto's goals were different then why should the fox allow them? He could control the vessel's actions if he so wished and that was what made the village distrustful of Naruto.

"Sasuke? What do we do now?"

Karin's voice was weak and Sasuke turned blank eyes to look at the woman and resisted the urge to shrug his shoulders.

"We take him back to Madara and then begin preparations to capture the Kyuubi no Kitsune, after then we see to Juugo."

As long as Sasuke thought of Naruto as the Kyuubi – Madara had told him that they were never separate people, the might of the Kyuubi was the might of Naruto and all Naruto had was the fox – then he would not have to think of the consequences of what might happen. As long as he continued to lie to his self, to convince his mind that Naruto was the enemy, was the Kyuubi then it would be alright.

"Karin... could you... help me?"

Karin's face showed shock at Sasuke's words and the Uchiha resisted the retort. The words had been hard to say but there was no way that he would be able to carry the brute of a Jinchuuriki back home by himself, and Suigetsu was already burdened by their injured team member. His best bet was to summon a snake so that it could carry him for them but he wasn't sure how much chakra he had left.

Karin took one side of the man, draping one of his arms around her own neck and Sasuke did likewise with the other side. Together they lifted the man and staggered onwards. Sasuke noticed the Jinchuuriki's feet trailing on the floor but he did not order anyone to pick them up; this man was just a beast, a monster, and Sasuke was convinced that he had to rid this filth from the earth.

A tiny voice in his head negated against the lies but Sasuke crushed it with a weary sigh. When the time came, this would be Naruto and he could not afford to regret a single action.

 **嘆願**

Naruto sat sullenly as Fukasaku approached. The sword lay on the floor, where it had fallen hours ago, and Naruto stared blankly at it, arm twitching every now and again, as if wanting to take it and then thinking better of it.

"Naruto..?"

Naruto jumped and looked up to see the elderly toad peering curiously at him.

"Sorry, I must have got distracted."

Fukasaku frowned at that and surveyed Naruto with a critical eye.

"How long have you been like that?"

Naruto scratched his head and looked up at the sky; the moon was out yet it could only have been twilight.

"A couple of hours at the least. Forgive me, Fukasaku-sama."

Naruto bowed his head and the Sage moved closer to him, trying to find out the source of Naruto's distraction. He resisted the urge to gasp when he saw the mark on Naruto's skin, yet Naruto caught the intake of breath and nodded slowly.

"The Kyuubi said it was to remind me of my duty to him... the duty that I have to kill Uchiha Madara."

Naruto scratched the raw skin and frowned before continuing.

"I don't understand why though... he knows I will end up killing the man anyway but to do this..?"

Fukasaku reached out a webbed hand and gingerly touched the flesh. Naruto gasped in pain and withdrew his arm.

"Let me take another look, Naruto. I won't touch it this time but I need to assess the damage, if any."

Slowly, Naruto allowed the Sage to take his arm and waited as the toad peered at it for a long amount of time.

"It will change."

Naruto looked up in confusion.

"When you can use Sage chakra, it will change to white. If you do not learn how to use it then the scar will remain red. My advice is to use this mark that the nine tails gave you to its advantage. We do not know what it will do when you face Madara but the least we can do is get it to cooperate with us. You can never tell with a fox; the oddest of things end up being the biggest of help."

Naruto nodded and rose, the Kogitsune-maru gripped tightly in the palm of his left hand.

"I was hoping to talk to you, Naruto. Would you rather eat first or would now be an appropriate time."

Naruto glanced down to the little body of the wise toad and sat back down, "Now is fine, Fukasaku-sama."

The amphibian nodded and sighed heavily.

"I do not know if anyone has approached you about this but I doubt that they have. Naruto, I'll put it bluntly; to associate yourself in a relationship with Uchiha Itachi is suicide. I beg of you to distance yourself from him and exile him from Konoha, for good."

Naruto's world slowed down and his eyes widened at Fukasaku's words. Distance himself from Itachi?

"I am sorry, Fukasaku-sama, but that cannot be an option. Exiling Itachi will do nothing but bring more unnecessary heartache to his life. He has sacrificed so much for Konohagakure and I am not going to deny him access to his home. I would be the monster that the Akatsuki view me as and I am disgusted to think that it is even considered."

Naruto stood and walked away from his teacher.

"I am sorry, Fukasaku-sama, but Itachi means a lot to me and I will not just disregard him from my life in such a way."

"You do not understand Naruto. That man bears a curse upon his shoulders and he will act in a way that goes with his own judgements. He grew up in the war that made Minato famous... no doubt Jiraiya told you of the ferocity the Lightning-Leaf war imposed on the world. Uchiha Itachi grew up in that and he may claim to put the village's stability first but that is a lie. Every human would willingly put their own life before any others; it is the nature of those who are born into a war."

Naruto's gaze was cold as he looked at Fukasaku.

"I have spoken to the Kyuubi about redemption and I believe that there is something within the Kyuubi that is worth saving. And I will try my hardest to do so, not just for the fox but because there are people who want me dead just for him. I'm not about to stand aside and offer my life because I know what the repercussions will be.

"Yet here you are, speaking to me in such a way, and there is nothing, nothing, I see inside of you that I would save. I know my words are harsh, Fukasaku-sama, but you cannot honestly judge those that were brought up in war, nobody gets to choose how or when they are born."

Fukasaku shifted uncomfortably, aware that he had crossed over the line a long while back. While he did not regret his words, he regretted the impression they had made and bowed his head to Naruto.

"Please consider the implications I have made though Naruto-sama. It would not do well for Konoha to lose such a great Hokage and I believe there is no way that both you and Itachi will survive this war."

Naruto's gaze stayed rooted to the floor as Fukasaku left, a dark feeling swirling around his stomach; for some reason it felt as though Fukasaku had just confirmed his worst fears.

 **Bone**

 **one of the structures composing the skeleton of a vertebrate**

 **骨**

Madara waited patiently as the two parties he sent were gathering in the meeting room. The room itself was empty, aside from a bone table and matching chairs, the stark white a visual imprint upon the darkness contrast to the room itself. The white reminded Madara of his goals, his wish to free the world of its plague and sit upon a throne made from the Kyuubi's bones. After all, they were just demons and for ridding the world of this burden he should be – and would be – viewed as a God. The Akatsuki were bringing a new dawn to the world, a dawn that would be born of war and quenched by the Bijuu.

Ironic, really, that it would be nine demons (or the power of the nine demons to be correct) that would wash the world a fresh, clean the slate for Madara and his followers. After he was in control, there would be no elemental nations, just his palace of bone and the feeling of utmost power in his grasp.

It had been decided years ago, back when the Sage of Six Paths had chosen his successors. What good was love and a mind where the body was a weapon? The body was what inflicted damage, and in the world of ninja, there could be nothing but war, hatred and revenge.

Madara would halt that, to an extent, where he would be the one taking control. The descendants of the Elder successor would prevail this time around, showing the world that love got you nowhere. Afterall, if there was love in this world then why did so many people hate it? Why did so many people commit terrible crimes? Surely that cannot be born from love, but the hatred love brings about.

Madara knew the double edged sword of love well, it's all nice until suddenly it's turned its back on you, throwing the one who proclaimed to love into darkness and abandoning them. It was a cruel emotion, one that convinced you you were safe, only to laugh in your face. How could you build a world on that?

It couldn't be done.

Pein and Kisame were the first to enter and Madara noticed the way Kisame kept a few steps behind Pein, like a dog would to a strict master. He resisted the urge to chuckle; before Kisame had left the Mist, he had certainly been a dog to all. He was faithful – so faithful that Madara did not doubt any of his intentions – and would respect the people who put him in his place. In fact, Madara knew only of two people that the man had followed around in such a way; Pein and himself.

Pein because he most likely had hurt the man, or at least threatened him, and Madara because, at one point, he had ruled over every aspect of the man's life. He had decided to set up the Seven Swordsmen organisation, approving of Hoshigaki Kisame's entry to the group and had encouraged the violence. Kisame had only been free when Tobi hadn't been in the organisation, for, with Tobi, he had been around the sword wielder and that meant he was given authority over him. Even if Kisame hadn't known it.

Sasuke was the first to enter, flanked by the two members of his team that were able to walk at the moment. It didn't matter that the third was currently in recovery to Madara, there had been larger losses recently in Akatsuki, and without these losses, these sacrifices, he wouldn't be where he was today, the bone crown almost within his grasp and the Kyuubi's dying calls in his ear.

After all, it wasn't as if they'd need a thousand men to take on the last Jinchuuriki. In fact, if Pein could not do it then he could just go in himself. And the probability of Pein not being able to complete this job was next to nothing, so close to nothing that Madara would call it impossible.

"Take your seats," a gravelly voice called and Madara smirked under his mask. Zetsu obviously wanted to get on with this and Madara couldn't help but agree. They had too many things to do, too many things to plan. Ever confident in his plans, even Madara wanted to double check and reassess, something that he could only do if he was alone, perhaps maybe stretching the company to Zetsu, the man did have some interesting skills, after all.

"Sasuke, you may report first."

It made sense for the Uchiha to go first; not only had Falcon left first, but they had to clean up everything with the Hachibi before the Kyuubi. It was a number sequence, after all, and eight always came before nine.

Madara noticed Sasuke's eyes and frowned at the emotion in them; he was clearly grieving for the pain he had caused one of his team members, however small, and there was evidently something on his mind. That something was a factor that Madara did not like and hoped that it would not cause future problems, after all Sasuke was to play a larger part in the scheme of things and he couldn't have Itachi's brother ruining it like Itachi himself had. If Sasuke felt emotion for having a team member hurt, however severe, then Madara would have to get it out of him; Sasuke would not become a rogue when he was the most important piece for this plan.

Though if Sasuke was to be like Itachi, then Madara would be content with only Pein and him on the team. Itachi was a remarkable Shinobi and his skills had been wasted upon Konoha, a dirty village that needed obliterating.

"We successfully located the Hachibi's host and took down the target without death, as requested. One member was hurt severely, the rest recovered well."

When Itachi and Kisame had tracked down their first Bijuu, Itachi had said the mere scrapings of what they had done, yet it had been less than Sasuke. Itachi was never one for words and it was just another sick similarity between the man Madara held an infatuation, because Itachi had been an amazing Shinobi, and Madara was attracted in a sense to the power, for – even in his death - and the man Madara would manipulate to no ends.

"And I assume he's held in the room adjacent to the Dragon Sealing Statue? As I instructed?"

Sasuke nodded and Madara turned away from him to look at Pein.

"Then we shall proceed with the sealing of the Hachibi no Kyogyuuafter we have the necessary reports of Konoha. I suspect that Konoha is still weak now and we should be able to capture the Kyuubi relatively easily."

Kisame glanced over at Pein nervously and waited for him to speak. Dare he mention that Itachi was fighting fit? If he did then Madara would most likely hit the roof – as would Sasuke – yet their plans would be altered. Itachi had died once and even if he had been resurrected by some sheer miracle, it wasn't as if that could be done again, right?

"We monitored Konoha for approximately seven days and found the Godaime resumed her position. Considering that Danzou told us that the position was held empty, it's safe to assume that he was telling the truth."

Well that was true; their Konoha informant had told them that the Hokage seat had been held by the Advisors and that the Godaime would simply take up her position on return. Of course, that made sense for Konoha would surely be in turmoil if they had to change Hokage on a whimsical purpose but what of the other news…

Madara noticed Kisame shift uncomfortably in his seat and a frown rose to his face. Kisame would fidget, yes, but never shift, and that movement had been a definite shift. Was Kisame hiding something?

"Kisame, do you have anything to add?"

The man inclined his head slightly and Madara waited patiently for the man to talk.

"It's him… He- he's-"

Madara leant forwards as Kisame cut his own speech off and narrowed his eyes. Was Kisame purposefully trying to hide something from him? The man slumped in his chair before looking directly at Madara,

"He's not in the village. The vessel that is."

Madara looked over to the pierced man in confirmation and Pein nodded in reply.

"The Jinchuuriki was nowhere to be found. We assume that they have moved him out of the village to a more secure area, or have hidden him deep within Konohagakure's system. It's a foolish move; if we cannot have the Kyuubi straight and upfront then the village will be torn apart while we look for it."

Madara nodded slowly; it set things back a little but they would find the Jinchuuriki and remove the miserable existence from the world. A slight noise caught his attention suddenly and Madara wheeled round to face Sasuke. What did Sasuke have to say that was so important to interrupt a report? No doubt it was something interesting...

"You say the Godaime was the Hokage?"

Pein nodded slowly, eyes hooded in a patronising boredom. If all he was going to do was state the obvious, maybe there was less of Itachi in him than previously thought. Madara waited for Sasuke to make his point, whatever it may be.

"Well we were in a tavern before meeting a source for the Hachibi's whereabouts and I heard two men talking about the Rokudaime Hokage."

Four head snapped towards the trio and Madara knew his eyes were bulging out behind his mask. Kisame held a confused look on his face and Pein had changed skin colour to a slight purplish tinge, the veins in his neck now visible. If there was any information that was as crucial to their plans, it was this. Everything depended on the truth of what Sasuke claimed to have heard, and who exactly this Rokudaime was. If it was someone even the Akatsuki were wary of (because, yes, there were a few, they would simply be too insane not to be cautious of a few people), then the plans had to change. And changes meant more time, more time meaning everything could change again and so the situation would have to be reassessed.

"What do you mean, Sasuke?"

Sasuke looked at the three men whose faces had changed and avoided Zetsu's beady glare. He wondered why none of them had picked up on it… heck he had been in a foreign village, nowhere near Konoha and had still managed to find it out.

"There were these two men talking about the Rokudaime Hokage and how he would help Konoha to prosper."

Madara shook his head and grit his teeth,

"No, Sasuke. A name, do you have a name?"

Sasuke would have been shocked by the reaction Madara was giving but it was understandable. Depending on if they knew who this unknown Hokage was, Madara's plans could be ruined.

"Namikaze. All they said was Namikaze-sama."

The room fell silent and Madara looked towards Pein and Kisame.

"He's dead…" Kisame's words were slow and thoughtful, laced with questions and sewed with curiosity. It was an obvious statement, but it had to be sounded out. If Namikaze Minato was the Rokudaime then their plans would be useless; Minato was a man to be feared, taking on the Kyuubi without any powers to control it. Even Madara respected the Yondaime for that, but of course, Minato was dead. Besides, if they had Minato back, they'd say he was Yondaime once more... and why the need for secrecy? The man was a hero; it would have been shouted from rooftops that he was back.

"Of course he's dead; it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out." Madara's tone was clipped as he tried to figure out the unknown identity. Sasuke watched as the man he had thought so calm and collected lost it and slammed his fist down on the table.

"Suppose he had an heir."

Madara rolled his eyes at his underling and shook his head.

"Why would they hide an heir of his! Konoha have always been a power hungry village so that would be a stupid idea for the child to not claim its heritage… unless of course there were issues that could not be disclosed considering … the… birth…"

Madara trailed off slowly and looked at Pein. The man's eyes lit up suddenly and he rose fluidly from the chair. Kisame watched the exchange with a visible frown on his face before smirking and slipping slowly down into his chair, feet coming up to rest on the table. A second later, the door to the meeting room slammed shut as Pein left and Kisame couldn't resist a chuckle.

"Well he certainly got you this time didn't he?"

Madara turned to Kisame and sighed heavily. It was him all along, their last goal and he was the damned Rokudaime. Madara knew his plans had to be altered, if he was chosen as a Kage, then there were skills that he was hiding, and Konoha would protect their Hokage with everything they had.

"The real thing is," Madara said, "how the hell they knew how to hide their Hokage when I sent you."

And, of course, Madara didn't miss the slight smirk on Kisame's face as he murmured his reply,

"That is a very good question indeed."

 **骨**

Although he would never, ever, say it aloud, the truth was that the Kyuubi no Kitsune, the great nine tailed demon fox, respected one person. There was only one person who knew as much about the Kyuubi as he did, the one person who had enough gall to pick a fight with the fox and then walk away with a smile upon his face. One person stupid enough to refuse the Kyuubi something he wanted and yet the one person smart enough to not trust the deceitful words laden with syrupy intents.

And, ironically, that person was the only one who was strong enough to resist his calls, strong enough to bear the title Jinchuuriki and fight constantly against the social norm for him.

The outcast, the loner, the freak… the demon.

The man had courage; Kyuubi had to hand it to him. For sixteen years the Kyuubi had plagued him, aided him and hindered him, yet not once had the boy backed down. Sure he had allowed the tainted chakra to overwhelm him but that didn't mean he didn't spend every second fighting against it. Because he did fight against it; in the night and when he was alone, resisting the urge to tap into the extraordinary amount allowed for him, resist the urge to see just how much he could do.

Naruto had been born a fighter, was made the container of a fighter and would live as a fighter. It was part of the reason he had given Naruto the mark on his arm; the fox wanted everyone to know that this human, this single blond haired, blue eyed man, was different. He was special; he was a fighter for peace.

A peace that would be unattainable unless Madara was cut down for good.

Before the Kyuubi had thought about it, he had thought that Naruto was incredibly similar to the Uchiha clan's ruler. Both were determined to the point of death and would do anything to reach their goals and yet… that was it. Naruto had people he valued before his goals and Madara had goals he valued before people. Naruto was the Hokage and Madara was just a man constantly fighting against the position he had lost, along with the village that had rejected him. Naruto had not let his past consume him, rising out through the hatred and smiling, loving the people who had once feared him, helping them as they now helped him. He was loved, and in return, Naruto loved back.

And then there was the other Uchiha. The other Uchiha, the one who changed Naruto's life and, by proxy, the Kyuubi's. Naruto had always, always, fought against any help from the Kyuubi and so, when he had allowed the chakra to seep from the seal and out to the reacting Uchiha chakra, the Kyuubi hadn't paid any attention. Only when he felt Naruto pause with his own chakra and allow the sparks to connect with the Uchiha's body did the fox – for possibly the first time in history – become perplexed.

Why had the fighter suddenly allowed his enemy a hit? For that was what they were; enemies. Half of the Kyuubi's soul was fighting with Minato in the Shinigami's stomach, he had blocked that out two years after it started; it was monotonous and boring after a while, and this half – the living half – was fighting constantly against his son. They were enemies confined to one body and it was all the Kyuubi could do to continue the chakra flow.

Itachi must have meant a hell of a lot to Naruto if the kid was willing to give up the eternal fight – the fight that should have lasted even longer than this mortality – and settle for a fractured peace. The Kyuubi accepted Naruto silently and as did the Hokage. It was a tentative arrangement, one that was still tightening its grip and forging a stronger bond, but it was there. Naruto had trusted him to heal Uchiha Itachi, heal the person he would become close to, and the Kyuubi respected Naruto for giving him a chance.

The Kyuubi's body jolted suddenly and he rose from his position of lying on the floor. His skin felt cool where the Sage Chakra had cut through the flesh and he remembered a time when the cool feeling had extended all over his body. Of course, he had been young then; not even a Bijuu and he would never regret the path he was upon but…

… But the only thing that could truly scare Kyuubi was a reality, one that they'd soon be facing.

He placed his body back down on the ground, laying the greying muzzle upon the water and sighing heavily. This cage was becoming decrepid, the water cooling now as it responded to the Kyuubi's state of mind. He was tired, strangely, and it seemed like his time would be coming to an end, even though it wouldn't. The Kyuubi no Kitsune wouldn't die, he technically wasn't exactly living, to live you needed a body of your own, and he shared that with Naruto. Yes he would tire, yes he would exhaust, but could he truly die?

Death would be coming, but not just to the Kyuubi's eyes; the land would never breathe the same air as it was now. War was coming and Naruto was a fighter but the real question was… was Itachi a fighter too?

 **骨**

They were so, so similar and yet he had not seen it.

The Yondaime Hokage and the Rokudaime Hokage, fourth and sixth. Two non-integer numbers, imperfect yet perfect at the same time.

So imperfect because they were nothing; a clan of nobodies from nowhere. Two men who had defied all odds against them; number four because he was an orphan, and orphans were discarded at birth and, therefore, life, and number six because he was a cursed soul, a demon. Both imperfect people in the stark, bone-white world of Uchiha Madara.

And yet, so perfect because they were the perfect counterbalance to Madara. All of the Hokages, starting with Hashirama of course, had been Madara's downfall. The Second because he was the First's brother and there was no way the Uchiha name could gain pride again from another Senju leader, and the Third because he looked up to the first two. All of the Hokage's were ash on his name and Madara knew he had to destroy the ash, destroy all evidence that it had even existed.

It meant, of course, that every plan he had assembled was thrown into darkness; none would work now that the very prize they sought was in the centre of Konoha. If they simply tried to attack and obtain the Jinchuuriki then the whole village would put up a defence, even if they hated the demon. It was natural for the leaves to protect the branches, to protect the very core of the tree. Without Naruto, Konoha really would fall, and the village wouldn't allow itself to fall without a mighty resistance.

Though this made things a heck load easier; remove one person who was to be removed anyway and the whole structure would fall. It was a sort of blessing as well as a curse and Madara would make it work to his advantage. He simply had to, there was no alternative. Take out the Kage of a village and it would crumble. The only thing was how to get to that Kage... but it could be worked out in time.

His first plan had been simple; send Pein and Kisame back to get the Kyuubi in which would be an easy fight. The Jinchuuriki was idiotic and weak, yet they could not afford to under estimate him. In the event that Kisame failed, Pein would swoop in and take the final power from the human and force the beast to lay dormant to his power. The Jinchuuriki against two Akatsuki members would be a fight he could not win, would not win, and Madara had thought it foolproof.

Then he would have been brought back to here, sealed in into the largest eye and the chakra would collect together from all nine, ending in the very centre eye and there for Madara to use at his will, to use in order to destroy Konoha and the memories that haunted him day in, day out.

It would become stark white, clean of all impurities and Madara would head the white.

But then Sasuke had announced something that not even Pein had picked up upon; Namikaze Naruto was the Rokudaime Hokage. A monster had made the Hokage, the feared demon ruling over hundreds of people. It was a disgrace, but part of Madara had to congratulate the man upon achieving the position when everything was weighted against him. He had guts that the Uchiha hadn't seen in... decades. Even hidden away, biding his time, Madara had paid attention, and was surprised by what the Yondaime had shown in his abilities. Naruto, true to form, had surpassed his father and every single teacher he had, in such an amazing way that Madara did respect him - to an extent. The teen was still a Jinchuuriki, tainted, and so a liability to his world.

Konoha had a habit of protecting their Hokage and Madara knew that getting to Naruto would never be easy. They had to think, too, about how Naruto had managed to slip away without them knowing, it was either a coincidence – though the chances of that were so low that even Kisame could have noticed – or someone had told the Hokage of Madara's plans.

It was likely that the latter was the case, after all no one really knew anything about the new election of a Hokage and Madara knew it had been kept under wraps. His information network, the Akatsuki's information network, was vast and spread over the whole of the nations. There was no way that this could have escaped them if it was a public declaration.

Which meant that Madara was being double crossed somehow. There was only one person who could have the information that the Hokage wanted and be able to access the Hokage in such a way, be trusted beyond a doubt especially if the figure was Naruto.

Madara sighed heavily; he hadn't expected it at all, never anticipated that it could have happened and yet it had. Something so concrete and certain that it had to be the only way. It was unbelievable, yes, with all that he had said and yet it made sense in a sick, twisted way.

Without any other prompts, Madara stood up and went to the bird keep. Pein was standing by the window and he barely moved as the higher ranked Shinobi opened the aviary door and took out their fastest messenger bird.

"I'm sending a letter to Konoha."

Pein grunted and shut his eyes. Obviously the man was full of self loathing that someone like Sasuke had found the huge downer in their plans and not him. He thought he was a god, after all, yet this proved he was merely mortal.

"Be prepared to move when I order, we have a rat amongst us."

Pein looked over to Madara and his eyes flickered in understanding.

"So it was him then?"

The Uchiha didn't bother with an answer; in the end Pein was just a wannabe-God, nothing like the real thing. That position was held for the owner of the bone throne, the man who would slaughter the final demon with his own hands.

 **Expect**

 **to look forward to; regard as likely to happen; anticipate the occurrence or the coming of**

 **予期する**

Tsunade remembered a time when she had called sake the devil's drink. Her grandfather – and great uncle – used to sit behind their Hokage tables when in office sipping the beverage and almost every time the young Tsunade you ask for a taste, dipping her index finger into the clear liquid before drawing it slowly up to her nose, a pink tongue darting out to lick the droplet that was slipping down the flesh.

Every time the Hokage that she had taken the droplet from would chuckle as she scrunched her nose up and stuck her tongue out saying,

"I'll never like that drink, you're just a bunch of old boozers."

Of course, Tsunade hadn't been on a team with Jiraiya or Orochimaru then. When Team Sarutobi had been together, the Professor would always treat them to dinner – at least he would after a particularly hard mission (and these grew in demand with age) – and order one bottle of sake along with his meal. Jiraiya would be the one pestering him to open it and give him some and Orochimaru would look on in curiosity but never, never, said anything while Tsunade would scrunch her nose up, secretly dying to dip her finger in as she always used to do when she was younger.

When Sarutobi was given the position of Sandaime, Tsunade had bought him a bottle of the finest – and most expensive – sake she could find. It was smooth yet rich in flavour and so, when her old mentor offered her a dish, she could do little to refuse it and drank her first more-than-a-droplet's-worth of sake.

Jiraiya and Tsunade often ended up going to bars, dragging the ever reclusive Orochimaru along for the ride. As was the norm back then, Jiraiya would flirt with everyone with the hope that at least one woman would look his way. None did and Orochimaru would just glare at him each time the white haired male grumbled because his 'creepiness' was putting everyone off.

Tsunade always just sat there looking at the clear liquid in her sake dish, contemplating the lives of the two Hashirama males and their impact on the village. She would remember her Genin days, smiling over at the hushed argument between her team members. It would take between ten and fifty minutes before it would escalate, and Jiraiya and Orochimaru would get them kicked out again. For that night, of course, because no one really minded the three best Shinobi in the village (aside from the Hokage, naturally) drinking in their bar.

With the death of Nawaki and Dan, Tsunade had drunk more than she had ever in her life in an attempt to rid herself of memories. It hadn't only been sake; her father kept a bottle of old Scotch whiskey in the cupboard and she had fished out a proper cup for that, spitting it out when the taste of incredibly strong alcohol hit the back of her throat.

Jiraiya had found her after two days of this routine – the second time it had come around for Dan – and offered to take her out for ramen. There had been no sake this time, no Orochimaru or his creepiness and no flirting from Jiraiya. They hadn't been forcibly removed from the bar and Tsunade hadn't been argued over. It had been the first time out of duty that Tsunade had seen Jiraiya's attention focused solely on her and she could truly believe that part of her fell in love with him then.

At least it had before she left. With Orochimaru gone, the team fell apart as Jiraiya tracked him down and stumbled on various other organisations that needed taking down. With Jiraiya tracking hidden Konoha enemies and referring to the Sandaime to send in troops to help and Orochimaru AWOL, it left no option but for Tsunade to drink, get into debt, gamble, drink more and fall even deeper into debt.

As Tsunade stared at the clear liquid in her hand she thought of Naruto, Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato's kid, the one who had brought her back from the depths of the sake bottle she had fallen into and out of the rim back to Konoha, back to the position she had often egged on others to take. Never before would she have considered coming back home; too many painful things had happened right in these village walls.

Naruto was funny like that, though.

Her thoughts were shaken when she caught a movement outside of the window – a dark shadow upon the greying clouds – and frowned deeply, lines that should have formed naturally cutting into her brow. Tsunade's gaze fell to her desk and she leafed through a pile of papers and scanned it quickly before looking into the questioning eyes of Uchiha Itachi.

"Did you authorise a messenger bird to fly out?"

At the shake of the Uchiha's head, Tsunade turned to look back outside but couldn't see the shadow. Maybe it had just been a shadow, or an incoming report… which was odd because it then would have landed at the gate, unless it was urgent in which case it would have flown directly to the Hokage's office.

Being a secret village, Konoha had to traffic all reports coming in and out of Konoha in case of betrayal. There was always the chance that the hawk or eagle you thought was innocent carried the orders of an internal sabotage and it was this that Tsunade wanted to prevent. At least until Naruto got here; she could only imagine her successor's face when he found out that Konoha had been reduced to rubble in the time that he was training to protect her.

Knowing Tsunade's luck, it could happen.

"Tsunade-sama…"

Tsunade looked up and nodded at her new companion.

"I want to tell you something that will be of importance in the future. I am only sorry that I did not mention it before."

Well didn't that just send alarm bells through you? When someone says sorry they didn't mention it before, it generally means that they were considering options that the information linked to. Couple that to what Fukasaku had said and what the whole world thought of Naruto and Itachi, that the world was against them in every way, it seemed that this was just going to be another chip in the plate.

"Kisame and Pein were scouting around Konoha looking for the sign of a new Hokage. I spent… I spent time with Kisame."

Tsunade's eyes locked onto dark, glassy orbs and she narrowed them to brown slits. Even if he was admitting spending time with his former partner, any contact with the Akatsuki was considered illegal in terms of Itachi. If Naruto didn't place so much trust in the man before her, Tsunade would have called for reinforcements to take Itachi to the ANBU holding areas. As it was, Naruto did trust him (maybe even love him, a voice whispered in her head) and she would trust the judgement of the man who meant so much to her. Still, she had to be sure.

"You spent time with the Akatsuki and you just expect me to believe everything you say now? For all I know you could have authorised that bird to activate plan A upon Konoha while it's basically defenceless."

Itachi sighed heavily and shook his head,

"It's not like that Tsunade-sama. Kisame is… different. He's more like Konan was before Pein killed her. He is someone I would trust with secrets if I ever shared any and I have no reason to believe that he would give Madara the information of me being alive. Kisame would have more to gain from me than my relative."

Tsunade looked at Itachi and seemed to reach a conclusion.

"You wish for him to live through this all don't you? You want Kisame to be able to just cut all ties and come here – or anywhere – as long as he is out of the Akatsuki."

Itachi's head bowed down and his voice was low as he spoke,

"While it is true that I offered him help, it is also true that he rejected my offer. Even so, if he told Madara of my existence now I feel that he would have very little to lose."

"But if he does…" The question remained open yet Itachi instantly understood what the blonde was saying.

"If he does then I shall simply have to face the Akatsuki before we all do. Besides you know I won't be able to betray Naruto; he is simply everything to me, the only person who matters anymore."

Tsunade was surprised to hear those words escape the man who had done so much for his brother and she questioned him upon them.

"I thought everything you did was for Sasuke? Your whole life you have been protecting him, nurturing him and you even allowed the brat to kill you… yet now you say Naruto's all you have?"

Itachi smiled grimly and nodded.

"I have already lived a life for Sasuke, to hide him from the crimes of my family and then Madara. You probably know a little about Madara for it was your grandfather who was his rival and always has been. He has a sick obsession with me, probably had one for Hashirama-sama too, but I fear that it may have been transferred onto Sasuke."

Tsunade made as if to speak but Itachi shook his head slightly.

"Sasuke needs to handle it alone. He has lived too long in the path I have laid out for him and, while it made him stronger, he has lost all sight of right and wrong, ignoring the essential key of what I did… I did it for Konoha. As he has teamed up with Madara it means he plans to go against Konoha as his revenge. All I could do now would push him further away, and I can't do that. If anyone can reach Sasuke now, it's Naruto... but..."

Itachi paused and strode quietly over to the window, looking out at the atmosphere, the life, of Konoha by early morning.

"Naruto said to me after he brought me back to life that Sasuke couldn't be saved. It took me this long, this long, to realise how correct he was. Meeting Kisame put it into perspective and…"

Tsunade tilted her head at the pause, "And what?"

"Naruto thought that I was worth saving," Itachi said as he pulled his hood up and stepped out of the office, almost as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

Tsunade looked out of the window and smiled at the children playing down below; they were so innocent and carefree, reminding her of all the children that had lost their lives in the war. The saddest cases, however, were not the ones who had lost their lives in the war but who had remained and changed their outlook on life…

People like Uchiha Itachi.

The dark shadow surfaced again and it was revealed to be a dark bird. The bird swooped down nearby and Tsunade's eyes widened as she realised where the bird was headed. It wasn't the familliar crow-shaped Itachi, but a darker bird, one that had Tsunade up in an instant.

She needed Naruto back and she needed him now; training be damned.

 **予期する**

Naruto placed the huge frog back onto the ground and looked at the elderly frog by his side. There was a nod of approval upon his face and Naruto smiled softly.

"Come, I want us to eat lunch together now."

Naruto wandered over to where Gamakichi sat and his stomach twisted at the sight of the 'meal'. He could hardly refuse though; Fukasaku had said that Ma made is especially. Plus now would be a good time for Naruto to talk that over with the Sage.

"Um, Fukasaku-sama?"

The elderly frog looked up and slurped the worm into his mouth. Naruto hid a look of disgust and chewed on a leaf that wasn't covered in slime. It really wasn't that bad once you got past the crunchyness and the feeling of vomit in your mouth. At least Naruto knew he'd be going home skinnier than he had arrived. Apparently this diet was used to reinforce muscles and power up the brain, but Naruto could live without being smarter for the moment. Fish was supposed to make you smarter, right? Why couldn't there be a nice bit of fish on the side?

"I wanted to apologise for my behaviour before; I didn't mean for the anger to be taken out upon you."

Naruto watched as the frog chuckled and looked deep into Naruto's eyes.

"It's alright kid. I know you had steam to blow off back there and what I said was unacceptable. You're a smart man Naruto and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Naruto chuckled as he remembered all the times that he had been called dobe or dead last, always failing back in the Academy.

"You have something not many people do and that's pure, utter guts. How many people would have stomached all this food without saying anything? I know it's not exactly human cuisine but it may grow on you. Jiraiya used to eat it and he was thankful for ramen when he got back." Fukasaku chuckled.

"Plus you have to think like a frog right? To use the Sage chakra you have to be in the right mentality and if it's all to help then I can stomach it; that's what you're thinking isn't it? Not many people would, kid, not many people would."

Naruto nodded silently to the frog and thought back to everything he knew; Sakura probably would have refused the food, Kiba would have called it offensive, Shikamaru would have pushed the plate away, Hinata would have blushed… the list was endless. Though he may be craving fish, Naruto knew he would never object to the diet his teacher had him on. There was a readon for everything, he knew, and there had to be a good reason as to why he was eating tonnes of insects. And they really weren't so bad, not that many people would realise this.

But would Itachi have…

"Fukasaku-sama, do you think Itachi would have eaten this?" he gestured to the plates of grubs and insects topped with leaves. The frog appeared to consider for a moment before speaking,

"Without a doubt yes. I have heard stories about that child and I can say that Uchiha Itachi would eat these foods if they were presented to him. In fact there's an interesting story when the ravens took him in when he was birthing the Amaterasu flames. He was forced to eat living insects back then; you have to understand that, although the ravens have the sharpest of minds, they aren't that good on the human-food front."

Naruto chuckled at that and took a thick grub between his thumb and forefinger. Fukasaku watched as Naruto placed the whole insect in his mouth and chewed hesitantly.

"It's… not… actually that bad! Ma is a great cook."

The frog looked happy and Naruto smiled before scratching the fox-mark on his arm gently. The skin was still sore yet the colouring of the Kyuubi had gone from a dark maroon to a lighter red colour; a definite improvement.

"So it was the Kyuubi's chakra that saved the Uchiha then? I heard rumours about an Uchiha enslaving the Kyuubi and then manipulating its chakra to respond to any wounds he might have had – healing them instantly – but this is obviously proof. Especially if you let the chakra."

Naruto nodded slowly and swallowed.

"What I don't understand though is why it never reacted to Uchiha Sasuke. He was on my team so I know when he was hurt or not but… it never came out then."

Fukasaku considered this, scratching his head as if remembering something from long ago. It would take a moment for it to return fully but- yes, here it was.

"Well it may have something to do with the Mangekyou Sharingan. The Uchiha who twisted the chakra was said to have the Mangekyou and Sasuke didn't have it when you were in your team. Itachi did though. I guess it also has to do with your emotions; if you allowed the chakra then you needed it. Before you just never had a reason to use it… in other words, Itachi is far more important to you than Sasuke ever was and will be."

Naruto looked at his mentor in confusion; a few nights ago he had been telling him to cut all connections with Itachi and yet now he was saying that Itachi was so important to Naruto? Had this frog gone senile in the space of two seconds or was it Naruto that was going crazy?

"You probably don't get what I'm trying to say… how do I put this? Although I feel that the relationship between Itachi and yourself is doomed to cause devastation – not just to you but to others as well – it is clear that you two have a connection that neither of you have had before. This may sound stupid Naruto, but I wholly believe that this connection is something that we call love."

Alarm bells started ringing in Naruto's head and he shook it from side to side. He couldn't be in love, it was impossible.

"You are mistaken Fukasaku-sama… I don't know that much about Itachi or anything! Plus why would I know what love is? I'm an orphaned Jinchuuriki and when I did find people who wanted to love me, and let me love them in return, it was too late for me to understand all the dynamics. I love my friends and I love Itachi in that respect, but to romantically love him? Want to share everything with him?" Naruto was aware his argument sounded weak because, yes, he would happily share everything with Itachi. But surely that was just friendship, right? They were alone in the world so it made sense for them to share something.

"Plus, Itachi doesn't understand it either. He has lived a solitary life and wouldn't understand anything about love."

Fukasaku chuckled and Naruto looked over, startled. His eyes widened at the pure pleasure on the frog's face and looked to Gamakichi, who wore an identical smile. What was it about toads and concealing everything from him? He wondered if Jiraiya (or his father, because Minato had been here too) had ever experienced anything such as this.

"Ah Naruto, you don't realise it do you? Not only would Itachi do anything for Konoha, as you know, but he would do anything for the backbone of Konoha. Think about this… what is Konoha without its Hokage? Itachi would protect the Hokage and who exactly did he help gain the seat?"

Naruto was silent as the only answer he came up with was Namikaze Naruto.

"And even after that he remains by your side. He is there, Naruto, and you can't even see it. Itachi cares more for you than he has for anyone; even his brother. His brother ended up betraying him but you saved him from everything. You, Naruto, gave him a second chance to protect his home and that was exactly what was needed at the time…"

Naruto's eyes clouded as Fukasaku finished up his speech,

"But you're what he needs now."

Gamakichi sighed then and spoke, "Fukasaku-sama, you did it again. You've contradicted yourself and it makes it twice now."

The elderly toad looked at the younger summon and nodded.

"Yes, but I think it's just what Naruto needed. You could tell that the kid wasn't going to listen to me anyway and I just hope that it was the right decision."

Naruto blinked slowly, processing the words. He groaned suddenly, his head reeling with the contradictions and hidden meanings behind the toads' words and reached for another grub. Unfortunatly this one wriggled in his hand and Naruto backed away in horror, the grub sailing in the air. Fukasaku's tongue darted out and captured the food before it hit the ground and swallowed thickly, licking his lips afterwards.

Naruto shuddered; living with toads was hard.

 **予期する**

As Tsunade scribbled her note, she called out to Shizune. The dark haired woman rushed in and Tsunade paused in her task to speak,

"Have you seen Itachi?"

Shizune shook her head and Tsunade cursed. Where were the men when you needed them?

"Just when I needed him… we received a report from outside and I know who it was for. I think it was from them and this is why we need Itachi!"

Shizune looked out of the window before looking up at the sky. She scanned the clouds for any sign of the raven-Itachi and shook her head; nothing.

"Where could he be?"

"I don't know Tsunade-sama… shall I go check upstairs?"

It was an idea and Tsunade nodded.

"Tell him it's urgent… I need to have a talk with him about something, a serious talk."

Although the last part had been muttered almost to herself, Shizune nodded and set off right away. If there was one thing she had learnt it was that when Tsunade was in this mood, nothing could deter her off track. Haste was needed in buckets, something that Shizune could easily do. Being Tsunade's assistant was a difficult job, but in years of experience she had mastered the moods of her friend. Still, she would be glad when Naruto was back.

The door to the outside was open when Shizune reached the stairs and she peered out into the foliage in search of a black figure. She located him quickly and walked over to where he sat, a scroll in one hand a bird next to him on the bench. This was obviously what Tsunade had been talking about and she shifted uncomfortably, not wanting to intrude on something so important.

Yet it was so important, and Tsunade had been so worked up over it. Whatever 'it' was, it was evidently big and so she bit the bullet, eyes inspecting the bird.

"I-Itachi?" she questioned upon seeing the Akatsuki signia on the bird's message pouch. Itachi looked up blankly at her before shaking his head slowly,

"It's from Danzou."

 **予期する**

"Thank you for dinner, Ma, it was wonderful."

The compliment worked and Ma squealed, her toad arms flinging out in attempts to clutch Naruto's cheeks. He wasn't a little child, but somehow Naruto found he didn't mind the over affectionate Ma.

"Why thank you Naruto-chan! Little Jiraiya taught you to be so polite didn't he! Hey Pa, Pa! Can Naruto come over more often?"

Silence greeted the smiling pair and they looked over to where Fukasaku had entered the room, a piece of paper clutched in his webbed hand. If it was possible, he looked weary and Naruto sensed something was wrong.

"Pa?"

Naruto looked at the frog in curiosity as he slumped down into his seat and gave Naruto a tired glance over, resting his eyes at the mark on his arm. Naruto could sense what was coming, even if he didn't feel that it was the best of news.

"We've run out of time," he finally said and Naruto cocked his head to the side slightly.

"What do you mean Fukasaku-sama?"

The frog pushed the paper over to Naruto and Naruto's eyes widened as he read it.

"Tsunade baa-chan wants me back now? A problem had arisen… one that needs my urgent attention?"

Fukasaku nodded grimly. His eyes flickered to his wife and he gave her a short smile. She smiled back and hopped over to Naruto's side, ready to cuddle him. She loved the kid too much, Fukasaku mused, and hid the grin forming on his mouth. They had important business to attend to first.

"She summoned me so she could give me a brief of this. An Akatsuki bird was found entering Konoha by Uchiha Itachi… it was found to be carrying a scroll labelled to you Naruto. Obviously it wasn't the original scroll but no one can open the scroll because it's sealed with a chakra restraint that only allows you to open it."

Naruto shut his eyes slowly.

"Who… who sent it?"

Fukasaku's voice was bleak as he spoke,

"Danzou. It was from Danzou."

 **Deceit**

 **the act or practice of deceiving; concealment or distortion of the truth for the purpose of misleading; duplicity; fraud; cheating**

 **だますこと**

"Are you sure you packed it Naruto-kun? Because I really don't think you did and it would be horrible if it suddenly started to rain and you didn't have them. I mean you could catch a cold in the middle of nowhere and really need them!"

Naruto glanced at Fukasaku who shook his head gently. Obviously Ma got like this a lot so Naruto just took it in his stride.

"Of course is Pa here had just asked Tsunade-sama to summon you back or something we could be – oh here they are Naruto-kun!"

Naruto nodded sheepishly as Ma tucked in a pair of bright pink gloves. She had knitted them herself exclusively for Naruto, claiming that the wool was orange. Obviously her eyesight wasn't as good as it had been once for it had turned out pink and Naruto could hardly refuse such a nice gesture.

"Right then, are you full? If you're hungry then I'm sure Tsunade-sama could wait a minute while I fix you up something. Have you been to the toilet? There's nothing worse than getting halfway there and realising you need the loo… Pa did it once and he didn't stop moaning about the lack of toilet paper so-"

"Ma! Let the poor kid go."

The female toad tutted at Fukasaku before looking at Naruto,

"Don't grow up to be like this crotchety old man, Naruto-kun. Be brave! Rescue a lot of damsels! Or… knights. Depending on which pendulum you swing by."

Naruto looked at Ma as if she was crazy before shaking his head and picking up the bag the toad had packed for him. She had insisted that he take a few 'gifts' home and so packed lunch (that was enough for ten people), a small frog statue that she claimed was just an ornament and the gloves that Naruto had attempted to 'forget'.

"Okay then, take care on the road dear and look out for trouble."

Fukasaku almost whined into the palm of his hand as he spoke,

"He's the Hokage Ma! He knows how to protect himself."

Ma wheeled round to her husband and Naruto winced at her voice.

"Even more so then! He's an important person and you're just going to be abandoning him at the border of the Fire country! Shame on you Pa!" Ma turned to Naruto and her voice lowered into a soothing tone, "it's okay Naruto-kun, Ma's here to keep the nasty toad away. No doubt he was mean to you before… if I had known; I would have come with you. I thought he might have learnt some manners!" The last word was shouted and Fukasaku finally appeared to have had enough.

"We're going then Ma, see you later."

The toad waved a webbed hand at them and Naruto thanked her once again.

"Now this will probably feel very odd to you," Fukasaku said outside of the house, "but it's the only way you can do it. I want you to imagine the edge of the fire country… or somewhere that you know is outside of Konoha yet inside the Fire country."

Naruto nodded as he thought of the surrounding forests of Konoha.

"See you soon then kid!"

Naruto almost broke concentration yet froze as he felt a push forward and something cold envelope his body. A moment later he was back to normal and he opened his eyes to see the fading marks of a reverse summon on the ground.

Naruto smiled and took a lungful of air; it wasn't clear or fresh like the mountain air he had grown accustomed to but it was home air. It had the smell of leaves, of Konoha and of Naruto's home. Naruto began walking, the cloak that pronounced him as Hokage hidden in his bag; he would only put it on when he drew up to Konoha's gates… after all, who knew what was waiting for him as he got back.

With that thought in mind, Naruto sped up his running until the outside world was little more than a blur; somehow whatever lay ahead smelt of something dangerous.

 **だますこと**

He was an old man and there was really no place in a shinobi's world for the elderly. Look at what it had done to the Sandaime; dead by his own protégé and Madara? Well, Madara was a whole other issue. The man was clinically insane; his life dominated by a giant fox – of all things – and held a sick fascination for the remaining Uchiha brothers as well as the destruction of Konoha.

When the Akatsuki had first formed, Konoha had been on slight worry. Only slight because the Akatsuki were merely a group of rogue Nin gathered together and there was nothing alarm-bell ringing about that. It was when Uchiha Itachi declared himself a part of the Akatsuki that Danzou really worried about the group but when Madara approached him, the aging man realised that the organisation were, for lack of a better word, dangerous.

Madara had offered Danzou power – the power to be on the throne of a new Konoha, a new Fire country and a new world, a world that was dominated by Madara and governed by people who were blessed by him; namely Danzou and the Akatsuki.

When he received a messenger bird asking the whereabouts of the nine tails, Danzou had replied immediately that he was within one Uzumaki Naruto, an orphaned child with no clan or penny to his name. He was alone and this would make him a far better target than one who was protected. The Akatsuki had lapped up Danzou's information and the man had been rewarded with money.

The money was, of course, used to install new features on the ROOT organisation, make it a better place to train and to become the 'perfect' Shinobi. The place was modelled on what happened in Madara's previous village, an almost barbaric system and secret tribute to his master.

Of course the Sandaime had been none the wiser, neither had the Godaime, as both heeded his wishes and remained successfully away from his site, saying that they had given him full control over what he did and not even the Hokage was to interfere.

The Rokudaime, however, would have none of that. Not only had the man visited his establishment (after taking one of his soldiers away from it before) but he had questioned them, put ideas into their skulls and had the former ROOT hand out a possibility of losing the tribute to Madara.

And looking at Namikaze Naruto as a sixteen year old and remembering him as the child slept in the old man's embrace, Danzou couldn't help the feeling that swelled up inside of his chest. For a moment he had wondered if it was the feeling fathers had when their son won an award or their daughter when she was kitted out on prom night, smiling and proud of the child. Even though Naruto was nobody's child, in a way he was everybody's.

Eve through the barbaric training Danzou had always treated ROOT as his extended family, watching as the children grew into the perfect specimen of a soldier.

After all, without the emotions that hindered many others, without the ties that held them to alliances or petty deals, they wouldn't be able to betray anyone. With this soldier, people would be able to trust one another and trust that their mission, their secret, their story is in safe hands.

Danzou had experienced betrayal in many forms but there was one thing he would never do and that was to betray an alliance he had made. Danzou was loyal and it was for this reason that he had a faithful Shinobi spying in Amegakure as part of the opposition in the civil war. The Akatsuki may dominate the city but there was always the other side and you can never have too many viewpoints.

Danzou had truly regretted Naruto's reaction to the death of Mujina-san. She had been a valiant soldier yet the 'family' connection had run too deep. However the two members managed to get the girl – the child – up on the rafters was a mystery to Danzou but he had been disgusted when he found the body hanging by a snapped neck and rope, the two criminals dusting their hands as they ruled out the opposition.

Which turned Danzou's thoughts back to Amegakure and the Akatsuki. Madara would know soon that Danzou had kept the truth from him, insisting instead that Tsunade's Hokage seat had been held by Homura and Koharu. Madara had swallowed it easily – after all you can hardly keep a Hokage a secret forever – and Danzou expected it to blow up in his face at any given moment.

When the huge black raptor soared in through the open window, Danzou knew. A yellow rimmed eye glared at him as the ROOT Captain untied the scroll on the bird's chest and folded the paper out. His hand jolted at the words and he buried his head in hands. There was a single word on the page, two small characters, yet it meant the world to him.

"Namikaze."

It was all the man needed to know; Madara knew about Naruto and so he would suffer the consequences. There was only one thing to do now and that was to explain himself, go to Madara and buy time for Naruto to counter these new happenings. All he needed to do was write everything down, send the raptor off to find Itachi – the bird had to know his chakra – before slipping out of Konoha and getting away in enough time so that he could get to Amegakure before someone stopped him.

Danzou could buy Konoha enough time to adapt to this change and he planned to do just that. Deep within him, Danzou knew that Naruto was a perfect Hokage; he was kind, knew how to treat each person with just enough respect and yet still manage to make a friend of them and was simply inspiring. Like his father had been.

Although Danzou had lost to Minato, there was no way he could deny that the blond was a brilliant Hokage. Danzou had even actively taken part in the congratulations at the ceremony for Minato's induction into office and smiled as his new Hokage smiled. There was just something about the man that drew you like a moth to a flame.

Naruto held a stronger sense of the quality. It was as if all the shunning and harsh words had served to improve the man's love and Danzou had felt no regrets when Tsunade anno0unced that she wanted Naruto to succeed her; on the contrary, Danzou had merely wondered when not if Naruto would be Hokage. He had, after all, defeated Sabaku no Gaara, Hyuuga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke to an extent and mastered the Rasengan in such a short period while bringing the Godaime back to Konoha… all in all Uzumaki Naruto had been a fine Shinobi and Danzou was proud to call him Hokage.

Danzou sealed the letter and spoke to the bird in a low tone. It took off with a screech and Danzou packed a few belongings in a bag; mainly food for the road.

After all, he was an elderly man going on a long journey. He may have been a Shinobi of calibre at one point but everything ages and everything dies. The food would be a welcome to his stomach as he walked into what would be his death.

 **だますこと**

Naruto smiled at the guards as he passed through the gates. They saluted and Naruto waved them off, donning his cloak as he paused.

"So how have things been for you?"

Izumo and Kotetsu shrugged their shoulders,

"Nothing out of the ordinary, Naruto-sa-"

"Nope. Don't call me that; it's just Naruto. Never 'sama' or I'll keep you on gate duty for the whole month."

The two Chuunin paled considerable and they shook their heads.

"That's what I thought. Well I best be off to see Baa-chan then so I'll see you later."

Naruto walked away, greeting people on his way towards the Hokage tower and dreading what he would find. If Tsunade saw a reason to call off his training then it had to be one heck of a reason… or at least one heck of a letter.

"Ah, welcome back Naruto!"

Shizune stood with a cup of coffee and a smile at the door to the tower. Naruto smiled at her before half-hugging her with his unmarked arm and following her as she walked up to Tsunade's office.

"We still have the bird in question upstairs with Itachi; it actually seems quite content to remain with us. The letter we have tried to unseal yet it only seems that your blood or chakra will suffice so that is the main duty. Itachi will be beside you just as a precaution and we will find out what was in that letter."

Naruto nodded as he listened to Shizune's explanations half heartedly. In all honesty he was more concerned with seeing Itachi and Tsunade than reading a letter Danzou had sent him and wondered why exactly.

Why was he more worried, excited, whatever about seeing two people than he was with a letter from Danzou? If Danzou was writing then it meant something had to have happened… after all the man could surely come and visit the Hokage office if he wanted to talk about something.

This was obviously deeper and it disturbed Naruto. Something was wrong and he could only hope that is had no affect on Konoha itself and was merely some official document that Naruto needed to handle with secrecy.

Yet… what document required such precautions?

"Here we are Naruto, would you like a tea or coffee?"

Naruto shook his head yet thanked Shizune and they entered the office. Naruto's eyes wandered to the large bird sitting by Itachi and he took in the dark brown plumage with appreciation.

"He's a beautiful bird. Is there any way we could train him to be a Konohagakure messenger? Imagine sending him on missions eh?"

Tsunade had to admit that Naruto was on the right track; to send this bird somewhere such as the Lightning country or an impressionable village as a slight show of power was a political move that would actually work and yet the bird…

"He's an Akatsuki bird Naruto. We believe that Danzou was in contact with the Akatsuki before sending the bird to Itachi with a letter for you."

Naruto nodded and walked up to the raptor. He squawked and Itachi instinctively rubbed the back of his head.

"It's okay, this is Naruto." Beady eyes looked at Itachi before he ruffled his feathers and gazed at Naruto, determined to find out if this newcomer was a threat or friend. Apparently he made up his mind as a beak nipped at Naruto's hand; the bird pushing its soft head into the palm of Naruto's hand in a show that craved attention.

"I like him."

Tsunade sighed,

"You like everything Naruto."

Naruto frowned.

"It's not true. I don't like Danzou; all he did was lie, scheme, plot, betray us all and more!"

Naruto was pushed into a chair with the letter in his hand.

"Read it and if it is of any importance, tell us."

Naruto nodded and split the wax to the letter with his chakra. The paper crumpled open and he read the smeared ink.

Dear Naruto,

I am sorry for all the grief I have put you through in the past; I know it has been hardly professional of me but I needed to so that for the sake of Konoha. The elders have their own game and I must admit that I was a part of it until you stepped up to the seat of Hokage.

You could see it in Tsunade-sama's eyes; you were always going to succeed her, no matter what you might think. Tsunade and Jiraiya picked a winner when they chose you, Naruto, and I can say with all my heart that Minato-sama, Kushina-sama and Jiraiya-sama would be so proud of you.

I held you, you know, when you were a newborn baby. You had the seal still visible and you were left alone in the bustle of the hospital; just a little orphan trying to welcome the world amidst such destruction. I am sorry I didn't hold you for longer but now I see the person you have become, I cannot help but feel proud to call you my Hokage.

You probably don't understand why I am saying this and as I will be unable to explain it to you in any other way, this letter will have to suffice.

I have been in contact with Uchiha Madara, leader of the Akatsuki, for a while now. My mind forgets the time when we began contact but I fed him information that he wanted to start with because he offered me power.

When I noticed you, though, that all changed. I changed, Konoha changed and it was a good change. I sent an agent into Amegakure to spy on the Akatsuki from their opposition within the village and began to feed Madara false information regarding you.

I told him that the Hokage seat was empty and that the Advisors held it for Tsunade-sama as of when she returned. He believed me and I truly think we could have passed it off until we were ready. And here lays the problem; Madara knows about you.

He sent me a single word with the bird that held your name. I do not know how he got a hold of the information but it saddens me to know that I wasn't enough to protect you.

To repent for the sins I have caused, I have gone to face Madara on my own. I know that I will never be able to defeat him, or even come close, but I have to slow him down and if by sacrificing myself I can do that then I shall. Konoha doesn't need an old man like me anymore and it deserved a Hokage who can trust everyone, a Hokage like you.

I hope it has been enough time to come up with a counter plan to whatever Madara had planned and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me.

I officially pass the ownership of ANBU Ne to Namikaze Naruto, Rokudaime Hokage and also pass on that I was too late to save the Badger masked member. By the time I reached the room, she was already dead on the rafters.

I wish you all the best in the future and…

I ask that Itachi can forgive me. It is understandable if he doesn't but… I just want him to know that I am deeply sorry for what we caused.

Danzou.

Naruto was silent after reading the letter and he crumpled it as he buried his head in his hands. Of course they would need to go to the advisors to confirm what was said here – and then look for Danzou in case – but Naruto knew. He knew that Danzou was true to his word and it saddened him.

Right in front of him had been a person who was nothing like what people portrayed him as. He had been mistaken so many times and yet had never bothered to change the opinion, using the façade to hide behind as he protected Konoha.

Naruto began to realise that his vision of who needed redeeming was skewered; if he couldn't recognise those that needed saving when they were under his nose then how could he hope to fight against Madara?

"Naruto…?"

The voice sounded far away yet Naruto knew Tsunade was only a short distance away. He passed the letter over with a sigh and spoke,

"Danzou… he's a nice guy."

Everyone looked up at the contradiction to what Naruto had said before and Itachi understood perfectly; Danzou had merely been a man set on protecting Konoha yet had been pulled in too deeply, much like he himself had.

Only, this time, there was no fox to help Danzou and Naruto couldn't save everyone.

 **Worth**

 **usefulness or importance, as to the world, to a person, or for a purpose**

 **価値**

Madara sat regally on a stark white chair as Danzou approached the building. He was being led by Kisame and the man glanced sideways before nodding to the Uchiha before him and leaving Danzou in the centre of the room. The remainder of the Akatsuki sat to the side, around a table, and watched as their leader regarded the traitor with cold eyes.

Danzou looked everywhere but at Madara, choosing the floor to focus the main brunt of his attention. He heard shuffling to the side and glanced over to see Uchiha Sasuke amidst the ranks of Akatsuki. If it had been under any other circumstances then Danzou knew that he would have been shocked yet, amazingly, he felt nothing.

It was as if all the life had simple been sucked from him and it took all of his energy to remain standing before the man he had 'betrayed'. It was a fact, now, that Danzou was tired of life, tired of playing games, and he had accepted death. He wasn't a fool; he knew very well that there was no way he would walk from this room – or at the very least this building – alive. He would simply be another notch on the Akatsuki's list of dead people and it suited him fine.

He was, after all, doing a duty for his Hokage and by doing that he could go down in grace.

"Danzou."

Even the air in the room fell still as Madara's voice cut through the silence. The former ANBU leader nodded his head, keeping his eyes downcast and away from Madara.

"You intentionally kept information from us. You claimed that the Hokage seat was empty and yet we were informed by Sasuke that Namikaze had taken the seat. I will give you one chance to explain."

Danzou's visible eye widened slightly; he had not been expecting Madara to give him a single chance to explain but he knew it made sense. Madara would try to get every little bit of information he could out of the former Konoha Nin before killing him; simple.

"I merely wished to protect my Hokage, Uchiha."

Danzou was almost surprised at his tone; his voice was strong and cool as he spoke to the man who had controlled him for so long and he was glad for it. He needed to show the masked man that fear would not be the way in which to rule the world, that Madara's ideals were false images and selfish ones at that.

"I suppose you know, then, that it has set out goals back. We planned to take the Kyuubi with the absence of a Hokage… if I hadn't found out then I doubt we would have delayed an attack upon Konoha. Imagine that… if this information had come to use a little more than a week later then you probably would have all been safe. You probably would have been able to destroy my organisation and claim victory. It's all thanks to Sasuke really."

Danzou looked the youngest Uchiha dead in the eye and turned his head.

"You may be trying to guilt me into something, Madara, but we decided what needed to be done. It was inevitable that it ended in the clan's destruction but there is no way we can go back on that now. You can hardly say that the Uchiha were honest people… plotting a coup d'état and fraternizing with demons, people notice things like that."

Madara scoffed and shifted in his seat.

"And yet who is before me? I lead the Uchiha clan now and I control the Akatsuki. The Senjuu? Where are they? Sure you have Tsunade who is a direct descendant but she wouldn't be able to stand up to me."

Madara paused, as it to think, and slumped in his chair. At the same time, Danzou appeared to have reached the conclusion.

"And yet Minato was an indirect descendant wasn't he? The Senjuu clan made up the backbone and obviously this was going to create some interbreeding between a few clans… the Namikaze may have been a standalone clan but I believe that, somewhere, there is Senjuu in his blood. You also have to take into account of his mother; such a strong willed woman who was a fantastic Kunoichi before she came to Konoha."

Madara stood up suddenly, his visible eye revealing the Sharingan and spinning violently.

"I'd even go so far to say that he could defeat you; Hashirama could so why not the Rokudaime?"

Danzou knew very well he was playing a game as deadly as prodding a viper with a stick. It was only a matter of time before Madara reacted and he knew that the reaction would literally be explosive. It wasn't just that Danzou was using the man's very obvious weaknesses against him, but that he was doing it in front of his organisation. In front of the very people who were supposed to be supporting him in all his aims, Madara's cloak suddenly fell away to reveal someone who did indeed have insecurities and very obvious ones.

"Because the Rokudaime means nothing; he will fall and we will get what we want."

Danzou's eyes followed Madara's brief flicker to see the group watching slightly apprehensively. He could guess that the Uchiha had been temperamental since finding out the identity of the Hokage and that the group were simply waiting for another outburst.

"Then you would be a fool if you went against him. Even the Akatsuki does not know of his potential… only one person never underestimated him and that was Uchiha Itachi."

Madara tilted his head and sat deeply in the seat.

"Oh? Care to enlighten us?"

Danzou drew his shoulders straight and prepared to speak; he would have to be careful to conceal Itachi's 'resurrection' from Madara yet still give over a convincing argument.

"Itachi was on an undercover mission, yes, but never did he approach Namikaze-sama with skills any less than what was expected. He knew that he couldn't afford to go into battle underestimating him, as you should with any Shinobi, regardless of the image they portray to the world." Danzou paused to swallow.

"Itachi was still faithful to Konoha and Namikaze-sama was one who needed the protection of Konoha for obvious reasons. Although when they met, Hokage-sama didn't know of Itachi's mission, Itachi treated him respectfully and in a manner that would come from being of his… conditions."

Madara turned his head away and Danzou took in a deep breath; he didn't know how much they knew. Obviously Madara knew that Naruto was 'Namikaze-sama' but what of the other members? Danzou may be old but he knew better than to start talking freely about things for the simple reason of being in the enemy's hold. There was also Uchiha Sasuke to factor into the equation.

"So who discovered that it was Namikaze-sama? We tried to keep the information restricted as much as possible." A little bit of information wouldn't hurt after all.

"I did." Sasuke rose and Danzou nodded. Without any indication to Madara, Sasuke stepped out from where he had been seated and walked to the middle of the room, a slight snarl on his face.

"And I want you to know that Konoha will suffer for what it has done to my family; you and the Advisors will be the ones to repay what I lost that night."

Danzou's eye softened and he spoke softly.

"You are not satisfied that you killed your brother?" Well, he had killed him after all. "You wish to kill as many people, even the people who your brother fought so hard to protect, and expect it to repay what you have lost? Forgive me if this is merely an old mind speaking but… you possess a warped sense of logic."

Sasuke was suddenly at Danzou's neck with his sword placed across the skin, almost cutting into the flesh. Danzou didn't even flinch, staring straight into Sasuke's eyes. Compared to Itachi's full might, Sasuke was merely a kitten. Itachi was a veteran of the Sharingan and had even gone blind from it once – yes Danzou had recognised the symptoms and heard that the Uchiha had been taking medicine, obviously a counter for the eyesight – yet still maintained it at a professional level.

"Konoha raises nothing but cowards and idiots."

Danzou chuckled deeply at that and was surprised to find another chuckle joining in. Madara was lounging in his 'throne' with his legs crossed over the other, eye drifting from Danzou to his relative.

"Cowards and idiots eh? I suspect you are thinking of your old classmate?"

Sasuke withdrew his blade and re-sheathed it. He ignored Madara's question and began to walk back to where he had sat. Madara looked at Danzou and the man was sure he saw a sick smile through the mask.

"What would you do then if I told you the identity of this Namikaze?"

Sasuke paused in his step yet uttered not a single word. Danzou's face contorted into a pained look and he turned away as Madara shifted in his seat; he wanted to stop the Uchiha but there was no way round this and there was only so much time that he could spend putting the revelations aside.

"I believe you knew him by his mother's maiden name, given to him because of the links to his father and all. Shame really that his father's only birthday present was to turn him into a demon then really."

Sasuke's head jutted upwards and his lips fell apart from each other, a sliver of white revealed as the teeth were exposed.

"We now call him Namikaze Naruto." Madara paused for affect, "Do you still think Konoha raises cowards and idiots?"

 **価値**

The room was silent as Naruto tilted his head back and pushed the chair until it rested on the two legs at the back. Itachi sat calmly next to him, his eyes still fixed on the last line. Naruto knew better than to intrude; the Uchiha was obviously thinking over what Danzou had said and asking himself if he could allow Danzou the forgiveness he had asked for.

"They will be here shortly, Naruto," Shizune spoke softly as she stepped inside the room, the tray carrying a thin white bottle and four shallow dishes as opposed to the usual tea or coffee Naruto was accustomed to. He raised an eyebrow at Shizune and she answered the question automatically,

"There are times when no amount of herbal tea can suffice. Sometimes it is a good idea to turn to alcohol so I thought it was a good time to allow the sake. Tsunade-sama will be here in a short while too, she wanted to talk something through with Koharu and Homura."

Naruto smiled thankfully and took the cup that was offered, waiting for Shizune to pour the clear rice wine into it. Itachi's own drink was set down before him but he barely noticed it; his eyes remained glazed over and his expression was blank.

There was a knock on the door and, in one fluid motion, Naruto threw back the whole mouthful of sake and swallowed the bitter liquid burning a path down his throat. He enjoyed the sensation though; it reminded him of what was real and that he was real.

"Please come in."

Two grim faces of the remaining Oni stepped inside of Naruto's office and Tsunade followed in close suit. The door shut after them and Naruto gestured to the chairs he had set out a little while ago.

"First of all, thank you for coming here at such short notice. I'm sure you had other duties and whatnot but this meeting is what I would classify as an emergency." Naruto took a pause and resisted the urge to look over at Itachi.

"Danzou left me a letter saying that Akatsuki know I am the Hokage. He was in contact with them and managed to deter them for awhile… but we all know deters aren't ever enough."

The elderly couple nodded, not sure where this was headed.

"I want to know if he told you anything. If you refuse, or do not tell the truth, you will be punished in accordance to treason. This is a serious matter and the future of Konoha – be it my Konoha or your Konoha – depends on the information you give me. We are in a war; there may not be fighting yet but that never means that the battlefield is clear."

Naruto sighed and rubbed his eye. He hates showing such a sign of tiredness in front of the Oni but there was little else he could do; the truth was, he was ready to fall asleep. The walk from the summoning place to Konoha, and then this bombshell, had been enough to send Naruto to bed for three days straight. At least.

"So… what information do you have."

Naruto looked expectantly at the pair and noticed that they genuinely seemed perplexed.

"We never knew anything about Danzou being in contact with the Akatsuki… if we did we would have told Tsunade at least. We may not exactly like how Konoha is run at the moment but why risk the total destruction of the village?"

Naruto frowned at that and he realised there was a huge difference between Danzou – or the Danzou he knew now – and the people he had been in league with. There was no way that Naruto could call them the three Oni now; Danzou's motives and plans had been for Konoha – for the Hokage's Konoha and the peaceful Konoha – while the two 'Advisors' merely wanted it as a power step. If Madara had come into contact with either of them… well Naruto shuddered to think at the destruction it would have caused.

While Danzou had subconsciously been helping to preserve Konoha, these two old fools had been seeing its destruction. Naruto scowled at them and they flinched back; unsure of what they had done exactly.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice; I believe you about not knowing anything."

Naruto waited until the pair had left before pulling a thick file out of the drawer near his knee and flipping it open to the date and running a finger down the list of available Shinobi.

"Good, they're here. Can you send in Kakashi, Yamato, Sakura and Sai? I have a mission for three of them and I want to speak to Sai."

Shizune nodded once and walked off quickly. Tsunade bid her farewells and left for her office, leaving Naruto alone with the silent Itachi. The Hokage estimated that they had roughly five minutes before the others arrived and Naruto needed Itachi back.

"Itachi?" He tentatively reached out a hand and placed it on Itachi's arm. The Uchiha flinched suddenly and his eyes seemed to snap out of whatever illusion they had been in, peering into Naruto's own.

"Naruto…"

Naruto smiled and sighed deeply.

"I have a team coming up here in a minute; so you think you could go back to the raven form? We'll go home after this, if we can."

Itachi nodded slowly and the transformation was slower this time. Naruto watched with fascination as Itachi's features seemed to ripple and stretch before pushing in on each other; any other time and this would have been hidden due to the pace of the transformation but now it was easy to see.

A knock on the door interrupted Naruto from his thoughts and Sakura peered round the door, a slight smile on her face. Her eyes widened and she suddenly rushed in.

"Naruto! When did you get back?"

Naruto smiled wearily at her and suppressed a yawn.

"Not that long ago but something… came up. I'll explain it when the others are here, take a seat."

Sakura flashed Naruto a smile and complied. Her eyes drifted around the office until they met with black beady eyes. Naruto watched as Sakura seemed to struggle with an internal debate and she suddenly reached a hand out to the bird.

"It's Itachi, right?"

The bird cawed and Sakura's face lightened up.

"Maybe you can't help being called Itachi. It's not such a bad name… just the wielder. There has to be a thousand Itachi's around anyway and we just so happen to have the rotten apple."

Before Naruto could say something – he was torn between being happy that Sakura had finally settled a peace with the bird and upset that she didn't know the truth – Yamato, Sai and Kakashi walked in the door.

Well, Yamato and Sai did; Kakashi was being pulled along by Shizune.

"If the Hokage says come now, you come now."

Kakashi held up his hand, palm visible and turned to Naruto.

"Naruto, call your secretary off please? I value my arm." Shizune rolled her eyes and let go of Kakashi's arm, muttering about perverted drama queens as she stepped out of the room.

"Thank you for coming on such short notice," Naruto appeared to be repeating words and he fought the urge to sigh. "I have a mission for three of you and I want to discuss something with Sai."

Naruto clicked his neck from side to side and paused for a moment.

"Danzou has left the village and I believe that he is heading towards Amegakure for… reasons I cannot disclose." Naruto picked up a pen and began to play with it between his fingers. "I need you to track him down and get him back if you can. If he's stepped over the border to Amegakure then leave and report back directly. There's no point in following him there because you won't get him back after that."

The group nodded and Naruto turned to Sai as he coughed lightly.

"Shouldn't I go with them? I know Danzou the best out of all of them, having trained under him, so surely it would make more sense?"

Naruto nodded; he had expected Sai to pick up on that.

"True but I have something to sort out with you. The others may go."

Kakashi, Yamato and Sakura nodded and set off, leaving Sai and Naruto to watch as Itachi changed back into his human form. Dark eyes looked at Naruto and he nodded to Sai, a slight difference in his eyes that Sai took note of.

"I want you to take over Ne. ROOT needs someone to liven them up and now that Danzou is gone… well he left me in care of the organisation and I'll gladly pass it onto you if possible. If you'd rather simply disband the organisation – which may be a good idea considering – then I want you to be the in between for ROOT and me. I will be busy for a while, very busy, but I want them in normal lives if they want it… do you accept?"

Sai nodded without hesitation and Naruto smiled.

"If I'm taking over ROOT, does that mean that Danzou is unlikely to return?"

Naruto turned his back on the dark haired men and placed a palm against the window pane.

"I can tell you for a fact that he won't be. I sent the team out just to confirm what we already knew."

Sai remained silent and the room appeared to echo with Itachi's grunt of agreement.

 **価値**

The floor was cold yet Danzou didn't complain. He could hear the rain on the roof above him and knew that the lullaby it was beating would probably be the last sound he heard.

He was glad it was water though; water washed almost everything away. It washed out blood, dirt, anything that you needed it to. For a single drop of water to be able to turn to the mighty powers of a river… it was extraordinary.

He heard footsteps nearby and attempted to open his eye yet failed; the blindfold was tied too tightly on his head and he could hardly look either way.

"So weak and pathetic now… he's all yours."

Danzou recognised the footfalls now; it would be Uchiha Sasuke who killed him and he knew that. Sasuke had said before that he wanted to kill Danzou and the Advisors and that was just what he was going to do.

"Can you take the blindfold off please Sasuke? I just want to be able to see before you do it."

There was no reply and Danzou realised that Sasuke was simply going to treat him as if he were some animal that needed exterminating.

"In your eyes I'm as bad as a Jinchuuriki aren't I? But what are you going to do now that the only Jinchuuriki left is your former best friend and the Hokage? People respect and love Naruto now but you? You are just the one who betrayed everything that could ever have meant something to him."

Danzou let the laughter flow from his chest as if it were the most natural thing to do.

"You know what? I think he'd still accept you even if you went back now. That's why he'll make a great ruler… tell that to Madara."

Danzou merely shut his eyes, focusing on the rain outside, as the first sparks of lightning coursed through his body. A fire was being lit inside of him and his limbs jittered of their own accord, the electric pulse flowing directly to his heart.

The pain intensified and so did the rainfall, the drums of the mighty droplets beating out the erratic heartbeat of a man being electrocuted to death.

A smile crept to Danzou's lips as he felt life slip away from him and one Uchiha Sasuke stood above, mouth fixed grimly and hand raised slightly, emitting sparks.

As he watched Danzou die, he ignored what the man had said earlier and swore that the death had been worth it.

 **Lesson**

 **something from which a person learns or should learn; an instructive example**

 **レッスン**

Naruto shifted his feet slightly, causing the chair he was seated upon to move from left to right ever so slightly. His head was tilted at a ninety degree angle to his body so that it looked up at the ceiling rather than the other occupant of the room as an embarrassed cough broke through the room.

"It's okay to feel these things Naruto."

The blush that had been threatening to take a hold of Naruto's features suddenly sprang to life after fifteen minutes of delaying it. When Tsunade had left the room grinning like a Cheshire cat, Naruto's internal alarm bells had begun to ring. So when Iruka had stepped through the door with a large flip pad in one hand and a marker pen in the other, Naruto had promptly looked up at the ceiling.

Of course, Iruka had forced him to look at the diagrams, pictures, flow charts and other various forms of visual media and Naruto could say that he had been put off visiting any villager in the event of childbirth.

And then Iruka had discussed the same-sex part of relationships. He had started with the fatal words, 'when a man loves another man…' and Naruto had winced at the cheerful picture of two men smiling rather gruesomely at the camera. They weren't in a real relationship; they were just models.

"Now, Naruto, I need you to be aware of something called STI's. What are they?"

Naruto pulled his gaze from the ceiling to look at Iruka's flip chart. The acronym pronounced STI to stand for Sexually Transmitted Infection and Iruka nodded in satisfaction, flipping the page with more venom than necessary.

Naruto stared in confusion to the person who was titled Chlamydia. Was it their name or one of these infections? Naruto decided to ask Iruka; Iruka apparently knew everything nowadays.

"Um… is that their name? It's rather pretty but for a guy…"

Iruka turned with wide eyes and shook his head.

"Chlamydia is dangerous Naruto! Stay away from it?"

Naruto frowned again; was this Chlamydia some form of missing Nin?

"But-"

"Now, as I was saying," Iruka held up a hand to silence Naruto and the Hokage sat back in his chair, much like a young child would. "Chlamydia is very dangerous and is passed from person to person via sexual intercourse. It often has no symptoms and can leave a woman unable to bear children."

Iruka looked expectantly at Naruto and then around at his desk.

"Why aren't you taking notes?"

Naruto looked at Iruka in amazement,

"Because you barged in here and I have no idea what's going on! I could be doing paperwork now but noooo, you decided to come in here and confuse me with Chlamydia-sama."

Iruka sighed heavily.

"For the last time Naruto, Chlamydia is an STI, not a person, so please do not attach a suffix to it. Besides, I am here to educate you on these matters because it had come to the attention of a few people that their Hokage has been sleeping with an unknown man."

Naruto's mouth hung open and he groaned.

"Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka held his hand up and shook his head.

"You are a grown adult now but you still do not understand the basics of 'safe sex', Naruto. If you caught something and became ill then how would the villagers feel? Or even if you caught something like crabs and passed it on."

Naruto winced at the thought of the pincers digging into… well he assumed his lower regions with what the STI's appeared to be. He ignored Iruka's slight dig, knowing that the man didn't mean to suggest he slept around and returned his gaze to the ceiling.

"Now, crabs are also known as pubic lice. You've probably heard of head lice but, as you should know, head lice are found only on the…"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "Head Iruka-sensei."

Iruka beamed and nodded, turning another page.

"The funny thing about pubic lice is they do not just live in the genital area; it is all pubic hair… armpits even."

Without thinking, Naruto's hands flew to cup under his armpits and his eyes widened. Who cared about Akatsuki when you had thousands of little lice running all over you?

First of all the formidable Chlamydia-sama and now Crab-san?

 **レッスン**

It was a good half a day later that Iruka finally left the Hokage office feeling particularly satisfied that the education had been delivered and Naruto called weakly out to Shizune for tea. The dark haired woman poked her head in to see Naruto slumped in his chair, pale and wide eyed.

First of all, Shizune had asked if Naruto had been attacked yet Naruto shook his head blankly, claiming that it had simply been Iruka and his 'informative lecture'. Shizune had looked away then and Naruto caught on,

"You told him!"

Shizune stuttered a reply, "I-I said I would!"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes.

"It's over now though." Shizune had merely bit the tip of her pen before commenting again.

"Had he talked to you about contraceptive methods yet? I promise you you'll never look at a banana in the same light again."

Naruto stiffened and his body turned slowly to block out Shizune's thought trail and his eyes drifted to the window. Itachi had flown off early that morning to see if he could spot the Konoha groups and not a single word had been heard since. Naruto had a few things he wanted to discuss with the Uchiha that he wouldn't feel comfortable doing unless he had the seconded opinion. Of course he could always go to Tsunade but the former Hokage wasn't in the same position as Itachi and Naruto; they both had a goal they had to complete – kill Madara – and both relied on each other more than anyone in the entire nations.

The main priority was to get letters out to countries other than Suna, informing them of the change in Hokage. Now would be the best time; especially for the Lightning country. Naruto wasn't sure how anti or pro Jinchuuriki they were but two powerful people had come from the Lightning – two powerful Jinchuuriki – and it would be a huge blow to their pride. If Naruto could somehow unite the former enemies against the Akatsuki then they would be a true force to be reckoned with.

"How did your training go Naruto?"

Naruto looked at Shizune and smiled,

"It was going well thank you, I haven't managed to pull off utilising Sage Chakra completely yet but I have a way to ensure I can. The Kyuubi helped in that respect… speaking of which, I think I better get Tsunade to check over just in case."

Shizune asked to see the mark and Naruto complied, folding back his shirt sleeve to reveal the light pink marking. It stood out against his skin and Shizune reached a hand out to take his wrist.

"I can give it a quick check over if you want, just to see that there's no immediate damage that can be healed by me, and then I'll go get Tsunade for you."

Naruto nodded in compliance and Shizune set to work, applying the green chakra to her hand and running it slowly over Naruto's mark. The mark deepened in colour as the chakra ran over it before returning to the light pink; a sign that it truly reacted to the chakra around it. When Shizune announced that there was no damage that she could see, the woman set off to find Tsunade and Naruto was left alone in his office once again.

It seemed that most people had a job nowadays and that Naruto, when without Itachi, would be left alone. Even if no one was on a mission, Sakura would be busy at her hospital post, Shikamaru and his team were still decoding Jiraiya's evidence and Sai was busy disbanding ROOT. Naruto had enlisted Ino, Chouji, Neji and TenTen to help Sai sort places for the members of the organisation and help to reacquaint them with society.

Shino was working in the research laboratories; using part of an insect – or something – he had discovered to cure tiredness in Shinobi more efficiently than Soldier Pills. Lee was busy helping Gai to train a few taijutsu potentials and Kiba was busy helping his family to get their latest litter of puppies up to scratch.

Hinata was taking the day off and Naruto was at loath to disturb her peace. He had been working her hard recently with the skills of the Byakuugan, tracing the residue chakra of Pein's bodies and attempting to match them up to all the samples Konoha's collection held.

But, of course, Sakura, Kakashi and Yamato were on a mission anyway. Even if any of them had been within Konoha and busy, he could have gone under the pretences of needing – in the case of Sakura – to get reports for her work.

He missed the friendship he had with Sakura; since he had become Hokage, they hadn't had the time to really talk. She appeared to have given up with the bird and Naruto was thankful for that. He hated seeing anyone in an uncomfortable situation for he had been in so many that he could empathise with the person subjected to it. Sakura had clearly been uncomfortable with Itachi as the raven and Naruto couldn't blame her.

After all, she had been told for her whole ninja career that Uchiha Itachi was 'a very bad man' and the existence of said 'bad man' caused the other member of their team to run to Orochimaru. One could obviously draw up that he had to be worth leaving everything, even the only home you had never known.

Of course, Sakura did not know the finer details of the massacre, whether it was the truthful version or the untruthful one, and Naruto was not at a position where he could give the information freely. Itachi was the one who had begged – begged – for the information to be hidden and so adopting a position where his life was in constant danger and Naruto owed this to him; Itachi deserved his privacy.

"Naruto?"

Naruto looked over to the doorway to see Tsunade standing at the threshold, smiling uncertainly at him.

"You had a serious look on your face and I was wondering if now was a good time?"

Naruto shook his head and gestured for Tsunade to take a seat, speaking wearily as she did.

"I'm not sure what Shizune told you but the Kyuubi left me a mark to judge my skills with Sage Chakra. When I can use it fluently, the mark on my arm will turn to white." To highlight the point, Naruto held up the scarred arm and Tsunade walked over, taking the appendage in her own hands.

"Well at least you have a way to measure your training, hoping that it isn't harmful to you."

Naruto nodded his head in agreement, "when I asked the Kyuubi about it he only answered with the usual things, asking for me to accept his power and bitching about it when I didn't."

Tsunade nodded slowly and cut off the chakra she was supplying to her hand.

"No damage whatsoever, luckily, it seems that the fox wanted only to mark the skin but even that healed nicely, just leaving a typical burn scar. What I want to know more about," she pulled out the chair that sat opposite Naruto, "is how exactly you contact the Kyuubi. I always suspected that you could but now that you have confirmed it for me…"

Naruto's eyebrows rose a little and he nodded slowly,

"Alright then… well, usually I am either close to exhaustion when I see the Kyuubi, or at least very low on chakra. In that event, I used to always to ask for chakra but, recently, he has been able to pull me into the connection on a whim, like when I was fighting against Orochimaru in the Shroud; I didn't really have an option once he'd snared me in. If I want to see him willingly then all I really need to do is concentrate upon the seal when I knock myself unconscious."

Tsunade nodded thoughtfully and thanked Naruto. The Hokage smiled in return and the pair sat in silence, waiting for nothing in particular.

A knock on the window alerted their attention to the late arrival and Naruto jumped off of the chair, sprinting to the window and unlocking it. Itachi hopped in, a message scroll on his leg and his beak spouting useless noise. Naruto took the scroll of and Itachi silenced at once, returning to his human form in an impeccable manner.

"The scroll is from Kakashi-san; Sakura noticed me and I obliged to her callings. It was actually her idea to send a message back; they are going to patrol once round Amegakure before returning. It says this briefly in that scroll but I'll be able to detail it more; they wanted to make sure that Danzou really was nowhere to be found and agreed to stay out of the country itself."

Naruto nodded and blue eyes scanned the note; it said everything that Itachi had, only in less detail. He placed it on the desk and sat back down, Itachi following suit and sitting on his usual perch; the desk.

"I'll be taking my leave then; we have a brief lull between now and when Kakashi gets back to reporting and you two deserve a small break to do the more menial tasks such as paperwork."

Tsunade nodded to the couple and exited the room quietly. Itachi slipped from the desk onto the chair she had vacated and pushed back the hood that had remained upright.

Naruto studied Itachi's face – as he had done so many times before – and took in the slight weariness, the beautifully framed eyes and the slight humorous twitch to his lips. His eyes were dark, the ebony shining against the pallor of his skin and it curved upwards before giving way to neat eyebrows. Naruto jumped slightly and he looked down to the table to see Itachi's fingers smoothing the skin on his hand gently.

"It has been a long time since we have been able to have a little peace hasn't it?"

Naruto murmured in reply and curled his hand into a loose fist, his fingers locking into Itachi's as he changed the position. Itachi's thumb ghosted over the skin still, leaving his hands tingling from the cool of Itachi's body.

"I wanted to get your opinion on something; I want to send out letters to the other Kages, informing them of the changes in the Fire country and inviting them into an alliance. I wanted to focus on the Lightning in particular; the Hachibi and Nibi both came from there and I hope that the Raikage wants to fight against Akatsuki."

Itachi tilted their hands to the side slightly and lifted Naruto's left hand to his face. Naruto smiled softly as Itachi's mouth lowered to each of his knuckles, kissing them gently before repeating the ministrations to the other hand.

"I think that would be a very good move; Madara hates to feel cornered and the Lightning have reason to hate the Akatsuki. They will most likely want revenge and, as you are the only remaining Jinchuuriki, you will be their only option. Do not let them forget that you have been on uneasy terms though; if the Lightning feel that they can get away with it then they most likely will. That goes the same for them; don't let them forget that we were in a war. If we want an equal peace, a trusting and lasting peace, then we have to be truthful and not stow away skeletons in the closets."

Naruto nodded and sighed heavily.

"I'll speak to Tsunade and ask her to draw up a contract… or get someone to draw up some contracts. I want to write to the Mist, Stone and Cloud and invite them in. Even if they reply negatively, or only want the peace against the Akatsuki, I can at least say that I tried."

Itachi nodded and dropped Naruto's hands suddenly. Naruto frowned as cold air hit his palms and he allowed them to fall onto the table.

"Itachi?"

Itachi looked up with hooded eyes and sighed,

"While you were gone, the Akatsuki patrolled the borders of Konoha and I met with Kisame."

Naruto's eyes snapped to Itachi's and he looked on in confusion. Had Itachi planned to betray Konoha after all this? Had it all been a charade?

"Kisame won't inform Madara and he knows nothing about you so the leak was not from him. Madara doesn't know that I am alive and that is enough proof that Kisame is loyal to me. I informed Tsunade when I came back but I thought that you should know… you are, after all, the Hokage."

Naruto nodded and looked out of the window. He seemed to be doing that a lot recently, though it wasn't really a surprise. The village could be seen from the window and, with the clouds descending partially upon the setting, it gave off a beautiful image, a place where Naruto was proud to call home.

He couldn't imagine Konoha in the way Madara wanted it; demolished and unsalvageable. To him, every part of Konoha – be it the people or the pavement – was living, breathing; alive. Madara wanted to wipe the earth of any existence of Konoha, of the existence that it had lived, and Naruto wouldn't be one to stand by.

Regardless of what his people wished to do; even if they wished to abandon all hope and submit, Naruto would fight for them, fight for Konoha and fight for life. He would fight until the last drop of blood in his body fell, the last breath escaped him and the last shred of life clawed onto his being if need be.

Naruto looked at Itachi out of the corner of his eye and saw him looking out of the window too and knew, without even asking, that the Uchiha would fight alongside Naruto in some shape or form. Itachi would be the one standing there beside Naruto, fighting just as powerfully as Naruto. He had already given his life for a cause before and Naruto had no doubts that he would again, in the worst case scenario of course.

Naruto watched the clouds drift slowly away from the village, allowing a little warmth to pass through in the sun's rays and wondered briefly if Madara would go so far for any cause.

Naruto didn't think he would.

 **レッスン**

A fist slammed down onto the table as the Raikage stood over his desk. Pens clattered to a halt around his fingers and his anger was echoed through the occupants of the room. The two members of the group that had been affected the most due to that group's actions stood solemnly at the side, anger radiating off of every pore in their body.

It had started with Yugito. She had been a Jinchuuriki, yes, but the Raikage believed that Jinchuuriki were as much human as the person in the street. Just because they contained something that wasn't human didn't mean it turned them into it… after all, a jug may contain water but the jug doesn't turn into water.

Many people had objected – at first – to the Raikage's views, saying that he was biased due to personal circumstances. Of course he was partially biased, after all, his own brother had been cursed with the burden of carrying the Hachibi and it was no easy burden. The village had come around eventually and, as Killerbee and Yugito walked around the village they had often been greeted with smiles and praise for doing such a good job at protecting the Cloud village.

Now it would be the Akatsuki's turn to pay. If they had come for the eighth Bijuu then it meant that they only had one more to go. Killerbee had sat down one evening on the rare occasion that the siblings had eaten dinner together and explained to his Raikage the importance of the Kyuubi and what it would mean if the Hachibi was taken. Of course he had also said that he could handle whatever they threw at him… stupid, arrogant man.

Now he was gone and all the Raikage had to remember him by was the possessions he left at the temple and the memories they shared. A null void was left within him and only anger seeped into fill it, causing the pens to gather once again around his hand.

"The Akatsuki will pay," murmured one of the remainder of the group and the Raikage nodded.

"Who had the last Jinchuuriki?"

The Raikage glanced into the eyes of the speaker and spoke softly,

"Konoha."

The room's atmosphere dropped and one person sighed loudly. Evidently they remembered the losses in the war and assumed that he was too arrogant to place aside his ancestor's mistakes.

"I want to speak with Konoha. They are our best shot at getting revenge on the Akatsuki for what they did to Yugito and Killerbee. The Kyuubi has yet to be collected and I have been told he is sealed inside a teenager. If we can convince the Hokage to allow us some sort of alliance then when they come for the Jinchuuriki, we can exact our revenge."

Noises of agreement echoed around the room and the Raikage nodded to himself. He would make the final arrangements tomorrow; he was going to mourn the loss of his brother tonight.

Would the unknown Jinchuuriki be willing, as Yugito and Killerbee had been? Had Konoha treated her 'human sacrifice' in the way they deserved? The Cloud believed them to be heroes, people who took the burdens in life for other people and protecting them. Their jobs were hard and, although they were gifted with extraordinary chakra, they had to often put up with a cantankerous demon within them.

Yugito had lured the Akatsuki away from the Cloud, as was her love for the village, and Killerbee had fought outside the village. Both could have caused extraordinary destruction but neither did. They had both been in harmony with their demons; Nii with the Nekomata and Killerbee allowing the Ox a freedom some others couldn't guarantee.

What type of demon was the Kyuubi? He had heard that the Kyuubi could be controlled by Uchihas and he had been told that there was an Uchiha in the Akatsuki group sent for his brother. Did this mean that the Kyuubi would simply walk into Akatsuki's jaws or would he put up a fight?

The Raikage had also heard that the Kyuubi was powerful, obviously more so than any other Bijuu, and the skill it possessed was phenomenal. All in all, the Kyuubi – given it was in harmony – sounded like a blessing rather than a curse.

Picking up a bundle of wrapped flowers, the Raikage slipped off his official robes and swapped them for a black coat, placing it over his already-black clothing. The group was already dressed in black formal attire and each carried a single white tipped stem.

"To Killerbee," the room chanted and it echoed out of the window, down to the streets of the Cloud village where hundreds of people stood, garbed in black.

Only one other occasion had heralded such a response and that had been the death of Yugito Nii.

But, of course, the Akatsuki wouldn't understand that and this was why the Raikage believed so wholly that they would fall. Red dawn? Yes, it would certainly be red, but more of a dusk than a dawn.

 **Tree**

 **a plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground**

 **木**

Naruto sighed for what felt like the millionth time. Tsunade had been in and out of his office like some sort of boomerang on steroids. Of course, she was technically on Hokage business – strictly confidential as ordered by the Rokudaime himself – but it was damn annoying.

They had spent the better part of the day making sure that the letters Tsunade had had commissioned were suitable for the other Kages and had the appropriate documents alongside them, namely the documents proving Naruto's rise to Kage-dome and the necessary War clause. Konoha didn't want to be suspected of treason to any of the other nations.

The birds were sent off (the fastest in all of Konoha – and the finest) and Tsunade finally dragged herself back in. Itachi was off to report with Sakura's team, carrying a scroll that contained Naruto's orders to return to Konoha. If he was telling the other nations now of the change in Hokage then there could well be a small surprise attack on the village to see if the choice was appropriate.

"Afternoon, Naruto."

Naruto nodded back and Tsunade took the last sip of water from the cup on his desk. Naruto frowned but smiled after a moment and leant back in his chair, pushing the reports he was checking through to the side and looking at Tsunade.

"Can I help you? You look as if you want to talk to me about something."

Tsunade chuckled before replying,

"It appears that you have caught me. I was merely thinking of the possibilities that the future holds Naruto. Have you thought about it?"

Naruto was silent for a moment; had he thought about the prospect that all of his life up until now had been meaningless and he was going to lose it all against one man who had been alive literally forever? No, not really. Just like he's never mulled over what Fukasaku had suggested; that Itachi would abandon him.

"Yes," was the simple reply and Tsunade nodded, obviously satisfied with the answer.

"Good because I would be worried if you hadn't. You're Hokage now and this means that there is no 'I' in 'team' for you."

Naruto rolled his eyes before shooting back,

"But there is a 'me'."

Tsunade frowned and paused in what she was about to say. She shook her head and shifted a little in her seat.

"Whatever. My point is that you have to be sure you can trust everyone no matter what the consequence. You have to double check each team is filling out reports as soon as the mission's over; what may seem insignificant to a Genin could mean destruction to a Kage."

Naruto nodded slowly; he suspected that this was the late 'Hokage-in-Training speech that he probably should have had to endure before he actually took the seat and he would try his hardest to listen through the lecture.

"So, what I really want to say is… trust your village, love your village and protect her no matter what. Konoha is like the leaves; she is singularly fragile yet together so strong."

Naruto nodded slowly, a small smile creeping onto his lips. A slight shadow passed over his face before he decided to voice the question that had been bothering him for a while,

"Will Itachi leave?"

Tsunade looked Naruto in the eye suddenly and the blond looked years beyond his age. Tsunade felt a rush of sympathy towards the man; he had become Hokage in the harshest of time, was forced to lose one of the closest people to him, knew he was being hunted (and that the war now basically revolved around him now) and, on top of all of that, had the general Hokage duties to take on.

The older woman placed her hands on the desk between them and tilted her head slightly so that a few strands of hair brushed delicately over her face. A painted nail brushed them away, tucking them behind her ear, before she spoke.

"The evidence that Itachi will leave is high indeed… I've seen him in war and I've seen him out of it and I can say with the fullest of confidence that, yes, war turns him into a supreme Shinobi, one that even I wouldn't stand against but he is not Itachi. War changes him."

Naruto seemed to sink lower in his seat and Tsunade tilted her head upwards, a sly smile on her features.

"But," she spoke gently. "But you changed Itachi too. He seems to think he owes you for saving his life and that by staying with you, he is fulfilling this oath he made."

Naruto frowned as something struck him; did Itachi think their relationship, after all they had been through together, after how much they understood and how much they had discovered, was simply to make do for Naruto saving him?

"So he's just doing this all for making it up to me?"

Tsunade shook her head slowly, mirth visible in her twinkling eyes. Naruto cocked his head to her and Tsunade took a deep breath, looking from Naruto out to Konoha.

"Itachi isn't that sort of person, Naruto, and you know it fully well. Things have been uprooted and I can tell that you are feeling insecure; it's a confirmed fact that the full forces of Akatsuki are searching for you now, Sasuke is part of the Akatsuki and Fukasaku has unsettled you. I suggest you take an hour or so off to meditate or train, whatever, upstairs. I will look over some of the paperwork for you for when you get back."

Naruto nodded slowly, thankful for Tsunade's intuition. With the slight scraping of his chair's legs against the floor, Naruto stood up and left the room.

A few people milled about the corridors yet stepped out of Naruto's way when they say the weary face of their Hokage. It was evident that Naruto was in no mood to talk to various Chuunin or Genin and certainly not in the mood to be interrupted from his thoughts.

The door to the garden creaked open slowly and Naruto took the path leading to the wire pagoda. The air that met with his skin was chilly – after all it was coming into the middle of December – yet, as always, there was no snow in Konoha.

As the name would suggest, the Fire country was the warmest country all year round. Suna obviously had the desert surrounding the country but the temperatures plummeted at night; the desert becoming a place where harsh winds crept into the inhabitants dreams, blowing sand to tap at the doors of the sleepers.

Deep underneath Konoha lay natural springs and geysers. When the first inhabitants of the land – before Shinobi – had come to the now named Fire country, they had altered the flow of the natural energy with primitive means, allowing the heat and pressure that got trapped below the earth to be let out at various points all over the land, namely natural springs.

Of course, this was altered with chakra when the Clans were introduced to the land and other Shinobi came, saw the springs and went back to their land with the ideas on how to make their own. It had even carried into the modern day and Naruto knew by fact that the majority of bathhouses or towns originated from those in the Fire country.

Naruto rested his back against the wooden bench inside of the black wire and looked out to the brown willow. It was a single, drooped figure and the blonde's eye softened at the sight. Trees were reminders that everything was mortal, alive and, eventually, would die.

The objects that loomed – usually – so high above, topped with leaves that stretched seemingly into the heavens were forever looking over life, on the edge and sustaining the air that humans and animals needed to breathe but never being a true part of it. People always used the trees but never accepted them as living; to many, trees were just figures, pillars that were there to look at, touch, lean against but never living.

Until the leaves fell in the autumn and the buds blossomed in the spring. All human thoughts of trees escaped the mind then as everyone (civilian and Shinobi alike) realises that the trees are living, that they are alive, respiring, growing, changing.

So Naruto watched the hunched backed willow tree with curiosity in his eyes. It was an old tree, maybe as old as the tower itself, and old things were a foreign concept to Naruto.

Naruto knew he wasn't going to grow old. He had been told many times that he was the scum of the earth and should not be allowed to live, at the tender age of six. Who was he to think that someone who had been told that so many times could live to the age of the Sandaime?

And when Naruto had learnt of the burden he harboured, the Kyuubi sealed inside of him, he knew he would probably never live to see the age of twenty – if he was lucky. Even if the Akatsuki didn't manage to capture him, they wouldn't simply let him go without a fight. And to even think of taking on that many S-Ranked missing class and potentially crazy Shinobi was a laugh; it simply could not be done.

But Naruto had sworn that he would make his life as long as it could be and that was very well what he was going to do. Itachi had been abysmal in death, simply giving up the sheer will to exist because he had no motivation… at least until Naruto had forced him to swear a promise to the Kyuubi.

"If you don't stay for me," muttered Naruto to the willow tree, "then at least stay for the Kyuubi…"

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts, but that didn't stop the niggling suspicion of doubt that wormed its way in ever so slightly;

Could Itachi really be doing this to make up for what I did back then?

 **木**

Sasuke could remember the exact moment when Madara drawled out the words Uzumaki and Naruto even days later. He had reacted unlike anyone would have expected; calmly and reservedly.

Until, that was, he got into his room. Madara had chided him on the expenses, after all, a good bed cost a lot these days and Madara would only allow the best for his rooms.

Killing Danzou had been the highlight of Sasuke's day, as much as he was at a loathe to admit it. He had never killed anyone before – excepting Itachi, but that didn't really count; after all, Itachi knew he was going to kill him; it had only been a matter of time.

The rush of euphoria that had hit Sasuke's veins had both startled and exhilarated him. Back at the academy, they had trained minds to kill; no human would willingly kill another with a motive as simple as that, but they were Shinobi and Shinobi were killers down to the core.

Before now, Sasuke had merely been an imitation Shinobi. Even though he was the only one in his team to abandon the village, he was, until recently, the only one not to have taken a life. Sakura had killed a member of the Akatsuki when they rescued the Kazekage and Naruto had killed another member… practically. If Kakashi had not put the man out of his misery then Naruto certainly would be a Shinobi.

The additions the cursed Kyuubi added onto his soul discarded for the time being.

So it was this way that Sasuke knew how everything he had done was right; betraying the Leaf had been a hard ordeal, yes, but if Konoha produced true Shinobi in times of pseudo peace then surely it was a good thing that the sole heir to the Uchiha clan – the only heir – had left.

Of course Orochimaru was an enemy but Madara was the rightful Hokage now. Even if he didn't trust the man fully and thought that he had everything screwed up in his head, Sasuke knew that Naruto didn't belong at Konoha's helm. Someone who would, undoubtedly, be unafraid to tear down Konoha's very meaning and rebuild it to his standard of living was worth of taking over and the only person who qualified for that was Madara.

Sasuke knew very well that he couldn't just take the two Elders anymore – Danzou having been dealt with – for that would be two very small sacrifices. Itachi had valued Sasuke over Konoha and that was exactly what Sasuke would do; the bond of brothers had been re-woken with Itachi's death and Sasuke would be damned if he let this bond slip away.

Which was why Sasuke had spent the past two days alone in his room with little food and water, thinking up various plans to what he could do. He was now fully committed to destroying Konoha and he knew that Madara knew that; he wouldn't have simply killed Danzou otherwise.

With the plan set in his mind, Sasuke moved towards Madara's private chambers. Usually Sasuke wouldn't bother to authorise his plans but because this dealt directly with the Akatsuki's last goal – the Kyuubi – Madara would retract his promises of the full power of one of the Bijuu and his revenge on Konoha in pure spite.

"Come in Sasuke."

He hadn't even bothered to knock and Madara had known he was there.

"I have a plan," he spoke deeply as he stood in front of Madara's pristine chair, sipping slowly from a glass of crimson liquid. Sasuke knew it was wine, he could smell the tang in the air, yet his mind kept imagining it as blood… it would be plausible too, Madara did seem like the type to drink blood from a carcass and have no qualms about it.

The mask lay on the arm of the chair – throne – and Madara's face lounged in the shadowy darkness of the room, Sasuke only able to see one red iris spinning slowly as if to show him who wielded the complete power, albeit dormant and unusable for the moment, of the Mangekyou.

"You need to get the Kyuubi and the Jinchuuriki has no idea that I work for you. I assume there have been no leaks after all…"

Madara snorted and took another sip of the wine, humouring Sasuke greatly.

"I could gain access into Konoha easily and get Naruto… the Jinchuuriki to trust me easily." Sasuke winced at his slip up and fought in his mind against the notion that Naruto was still human.

"What will getting the Hokage to trust you do Sasuke? You should know by now that I hate people who waste my time…"

Madara trailed off and Sasuke narrowed his eyes; he knew exactly what the man was doing and he would not stand to be patronised… if it wasn't for the authorisation he needed to carry out the plan.

"When he is at a weak point, I would capture him."

The laughter rand true through the room and Sasuke scowled. It was only when the wine pooled onto the floor as the glass dropped, and smashed, from Madara's hand did his expression change to that of a spoilt child's in anger. He was used to making plans and for everyone to automatically accept them, telling him that they couldn't think of anything better than what he had suggested.

Sasuke stalked out of the room before Madara could cease his laughter, and it still didn't stop the sound of smashing glass on the floor from playing in lapse in his head.

The red of the wine had looked so real, so alive, that it was hard to believe it came from a mere plant. A plant that had given its life to provide Madara with a drink and a person had died to make Sasuke a Shinobi… just because there hadn't been blood didn't remove the red patches that had begun to appear in Sasuke's pallid world.

 **木**

Naruto nodded to Kakashi, Sakura and Yamato as they finished up the initial brief. All three would be returning the following day to make their report but, for now, Naruto wanted them to rest. Itachi cawed as a goodbye to the team and they nodded to the raven out of respect for bringing them back.

As the door shut, Itachi discarded his feathers for human skin and yawned lightly.

"Did the trip take a lot out of you then?"

Itachi smiled and nodded his head a little.

"Nothing I can't handle though, Naruto. Have you had a good day?"

Naruto bobbed his head enthusiastically in return but Itachi noticed that the light didn't quite reach his eyes.

"What's the matter? Is there something you want to talk about?"

Naruto started to shake his head before giving up and nodding in defeat. Itachi straightened in his seat, eyes firmly focused on Naruto's.

"I don't wish to sound… distrustful to you and I know we have probably covered this before but… this isn't just some request to keep your deal with the Kyuubi is it? Because if it is, I want you to be honest so we can just be partners in business and friends… not… not what we… are."

Itachi cocked his head to the side, surprised at what Naruto was asking him.

"I will not lie to you then, Naruto, because you do not need lies." Naruto couldn't help but notice that Itachi used his name a lot and wondered if it had anything to do with the previous statement of 'deceased' as was written all over Itachi. Naruto heard that people close to death often repeated names of people they felt close to or loved in an effort to bring them closer. Was this just Itachi's was of reminding himself that Naruto was real and that he wasn't dead?

"At first I thought the friendship could compensate for what both you and the Kyuubi did for me… which was why I gave it an honest chance. When I began to think of you as a true friend, and then later on, more, the thoughts of whatever I had promised didn't even occur to me."

Naruto appeared to deflate and a smile lit up his features.

"Thank you," he said simply before gazing at Itachi with a worried expression as the elder stiffened.

"Itachi?"

"Something's happening… someone or something is changing and I truly believe that it means the start of the war path…"

As Itachi looked over through the window to the city of Konoha, Naruto couldn't help but suppress a shiver as a dark cloud gathered over the town and rain fell, carrying the obvious message from Amegakure;

War was coming.

 **Dream**

 **a succession of images, thoughts, or emotions passing through the mind during sleep.**

 **夢をみる**

Dark light shrouded the figure and the onlooker tilted its head to accommodate to the odd glow that the figure seemed to bask in, almost as if it belonged solely in this light. The light itself reminded him of the light he saw inside of the seal when he was called upon by the Kyuubi; a dingy, matted yellow colour that seemed to invade every pore in his body.

A colossal eye whirled in its socket and the bloodshot orb glared in the direction of Naruto, seeing straight through him and into his soul. The iris was stained a dirty brown and the orb continued to flicker around until it appeared to be satisfied with the surroundings, focusing finally once again on Naruto.

"You contain too much power for this to be a mere coincidental meeting… tell me, why have you sought for my attention?"

Naruto startled at the booming voice and he twisted his body around slightly in the gloom, making sure that the question had been directed to him. When he was satisfied that he was the only one there, Naruto shook his head gently,

"I was not the one to seek you."

A huge head accompanied the eye as the beast's eye whirled madly and Naruto heard a snort escape its nostrils.

"You believe lying to me will do you any good? I will teach you to lie to the greatest of the Bi-"

"Calm yourself."

Both Naruto and the unknown figure turned to the voice that greeted them. Naruto had already known who it was, yet needed the visual proof to confirm what his mind suggested. The mark on his arm tingled as the Kyuubi no Kitsune seated his huge self beside the Jinchuuriki and, out of sheer instinct, Naruto rested a palm on the forearm of the fox.

"Kyuubi-sama…"

The fox inclined his head and red met watery black.

"It was you who called us here? And would this be… Namikaze Minato's son? Naruto was it? The Kyuubi was most adamant, at first, that we lend him the power to break free of the seal. I was already sealed, much like the Ichibi and the Nibi… the rest ignored out summons. Aside from the Gobi… the foolish elephant seemed quite happy to help you back then, if not for his own seal, but I suppose that was mainly due to the fact that he isn't a predator unlike the Nibi… and you defeated him centuries ago when he was a young calf…"

The fox shook his fur and peered into the mouldy light.

"Where is Bumblebee? Does he know it is rude to withhold his image at a Council?"

A low grunt escaped the other Bijuu's throat as he strained to hold his protests back.

"Kyuubi-sama, my Jinchuuriki bears the name of Killerbee and it would be in your best interests to not disregard the title as easily as if he were a mere human. He contains my power too, unless your brain has been fiddled with."

The fox clicked his claws against the floor and hummed his response, sliding down a little so that his head rested closer to Naruto's. It was unnerving to be so close to the 'demon' fox and yet Naruto merely felt calmed by the presence of the Kyuubi, even going so far as to rest a hand in the thick fur of his cheek, massaging gently.

"Regardless, I allowed Naruto to show here unannounced and have not even revealed why he is here."

The Bijuu in front of them – Naruto was still unsure of the animal species the power was contained to – widened its eyes and a hoof clicked on the ground.

"Do you not communicate with your Jinchuuriki? Are you so proud that you do not seek an alliance with the one who can wield your power, Kyuubi?"

Naruto's eyes flashed as the anger of the Kyuubi flowed through him, the seal in this blank space acting like a connection between them. Before the fox had time to construct a reply, Naruto had begun speaking,

"Whatever the Kyuubi and I do is of none of your concern, Hachibi. You lack the proper respect you show to your remaining kinsmen and me; if your Jinchuuriki does not show himself within the span of ten counts, we will have no other choice but to call a close to this meeting and consider you a threat… which appears to be the very thing you don't want at this point in time."

The stiffening of the muscles in the ox's – Naruto remembered the animal form of the Hachibi at long last – upper leg stiffening at Naruto's words. Although he was at a loathe to admit it; not even Killerbee and he had a bond that would have allowed the Jinchuuriki to form a reply based so strongly on what the Bijuu had wanted before the demon replied itself. It was merely a show of power that the pair had unconsciously put into play.

The light in the area shifted so it covered a broader plane, revealing the ox in all of its glory, the Jinchuuriki nestled comfortable on his nose. Sensing that he had been revealed, Killerbee descended from the thick muzzle and down to the ground, standing opposite to Naruto and waiting for the Hachibi to lay with his head closer to the ground.

The ground they lay upon was mostly blank – a material resembling a mix between concrete and marble coating the floor, walls and ceiling of the room they were in – and nine shallow impressions lay in a neat line.

Naruto remembered the Kyuubi's words, so long ago, about the rooms the nine Bijuu had seated in and taken place for their councils. Could this be the place where the nine had originally been seated before the introduction of Shinobi, the conscious thought of Chakra and the destruction these thoughts had caused?

Yes, Naruto, this is the very place my Kin and I seated so long ago and watched the land prosper and grow. It was here that the first of the nine allowed themselves to be swayed by Shinobi ordeals and so upset the balance of our lives…

Yes, it is here where it all began and I believe it is here where it ends for each of us. It will certainly explain why the Oushi has partially requested the council.

Naruto thanked the Kyuubi silently for his intervention. If not for the link between then – via the seal – Naruto knew he would be questioning a lot about the upcoming ordeal.

"What I wish to know is how you have enough strength to contact us when you are supposed to be going through the extraction progress of the Akatsuki."

Both Bijuu and Jinchuuriki started; evidently neither had been counting on the Kyuubi knowing so much.

"It is hard to keep such classified information… classified when your Jinchuuriki runs the Village of Konoha. Plus, you are not stupid and surely you could feel the others through the connections we forged here so long ago… and I bet the Nibi no Nekomata's cut the deepest didn't it? She was your partner, was she not?"

The pair bowed their heads in respect for the dead but the human shook his head.

"Yugito was not my partner, more of a sister to me. Much like the other Bijuu are to you and… Naruto is to me."

Although the hesitation had to be noted, Naruto felt honour swell up within him as Killerbee announced them as family. It made sense; Naruto was connected to Gaara – that much was proved when he took on the Akatsuki when they had extracted Shukaku – and there was no reason for him to stay cut off from this man, this man who had managed, somehow, to escape the Akatsuki on his own.

"But that still does not explain why you are here, Oushi."

The ox darted his eyes to the Kyuubi and withdrew his head slightly, allowing Killerbee to speak.

"It was a last minute plan, after Uchiha Sasuke and his team attacked us outside of the Temple, Unraikyo. We believe it succeeded and, although the Akatsuki will be after us again, we hope it has brought us enough time to retreat and escape to a more… convenient location."

The Kyuubi asked to hear details of how, exactly, they had dodged the Akatsuki at their final throw and the Hachibi spoke this time.

"Killerbee was fighting the Uchiha and probably could have defeated the runt if he wished to. Him and his team were on the verge of death and what does the fool do? He summons me, forces me to condense our power into one of my tentacles and them copy my body into that one tentacle. We allowed the Akatsuki to take my remaining body in the belief that they had won.

"In doing so, I lost an eighth of my power to the Akatsuki in order to keep them busy with the sealing and give us enough time that we could escape from Unraikyo with enough time."

The Kyuubi flexed his paws beside Naruto and Naruto shifted his weight down a little until he was sitting cross-legged.

"You say they were at near-death and yet you took such a risk?"

Killerbee raised an eyebrow at Naruto's reprimand and nodded slowly.

"Uchiha's are powerful, as you full well know Naruto, and he would have found a way to overthrow me if I had not ensured our security. Yes, we are alive, yes we are free from the politics of the village and no, I do not want our existence to be revealed again to the world unless we choose of it. We have been able to turn over a new leaf thanks to the Akatsuki and I wish for it to remain that way."

Naruto consulted with the Kyuubi in private for a moment, as he knew that Killerbee would be doing with the Oushi, and the Kyuubi gave much the same questions.

"You're walking away from protecting your village?"

Killerbee tilted his head and held his hands up, shrugging his shoulders. "The village is in control by my brother and he wished for us Jinchuuriki to protect it at all costs. If not for the Hachibi, I would have many scars marring my skin, as would have Yugito… her devotion to the Cloud drew her to lead the Akatsuki into a trap… and to her death."

Naruto felt a presence against his mind and instinctively called out to the Kyuubi in mild panic.

Allow the presence, Naruto… it is merely the Hachibi wishing to convey the emotions Bumblebee speaks of.

Naruto nodded and allowed the presence against him to edge its way into his consciousness, wincing at the cold feel of a bovine mind.

Greetings, Naruto. Thank you for granting me this opportunity… I am in no doubt that Kyuubi-sama is doing the same to Bee because in order to understand what our views are, you have to understand where they originate from. Maybe then we will come up with a compromise.

Naruto nodded and gritted his teeth as he prepared for the inevitable onslaught of memories that would overtake his mind any moment.

 **夢をみる**

The air assaulted his nostrils as he took in the smell of wood smoke and burnt paving… the obvious stench of an explosion. Naruto wondered how big the explosion could have been for him to smell it so clearly out here.

"Killerbee…"

Naruto felt his body turn and it took a moment for him to realise that he was in Killerbee's memory… and so in the man's mind.

An onslaught of emotions suddenly gripped at Naruto's stomach and he bit back the bile that accompanied it. He remembered long blonde hair, purple eyes and a smile that could charm a snake. One name sprung to mind; Yugito.

Naruto had never known how to contend with another's grief but if there were any time to do so, it would be now. He had never known Yugito, never met her, hardly heard of her before her death, and yet these feelings – although not his own – were so real, so alive and so his that the tears pouring from his eyes weren't just Killerbee's.

Fear mingled with grief and Naruto forced Killerbee to regard the facts so he would not lose himself to the building pit in his stomach. Naruto recognised the darkness in the man's soul and could not allow Bee to fall to it.

"Yugito did all she could, Killerbee… do you want to see where she was taken from?"

Naruto listened through the temporary body as someone explained how Yugito had diverted the Akatsuki away from the village she had sworn to protect – under the orders of the Raikage.

"My brother authorised her to die away from her village, underground where she stood no chance whatsoever?"

The man flinched at the tone in Killerbee's words and nodded hastily, his had slipping down to his thigh, almost as if he expected an attack. Naruto knew, however, that Killerbee wouldn't attack this man, but that didn't hide the bitter anger drawing up in his soul. Anger to the Raikage, at Bee's brother, for allowing Yugito to do this alone, allowing her to die down below.

"We're here Killerbee."

The man thanked his escort and Naruto took in the inside of the tunnel they had come to. It led to a huge antechamber and it was obviously here that the explosions had taken place. A long track of blood stained the floor and Naruto knew, undoubtedly, that it was Yugito's blood that stained the floor.

As soon as Killerbee – and Naruto – saw the steak on the wall that had skin, blood and handprints coating it, they knew that Yugito had been strung up like a chicken after slaughter. That hurt more than anything; knowing that the Akatsuki were dogs, enough so that they would have no respect for the dead and merely taunt the life of a friend, ally and protector in such a disgusting way.

Killerbee learnt one thing then; he had nothing to fear from the Akatsuki because they were cowards who had no respect for life. If they had no respect for life then they could not be treated as human… and the only thing Bijuu truly had to fear was one who had enough power to seal them; a human.

 **夢をみる**

Desperation coursed through his veins as he saw a red haired male's head bob out from the mouth of a huge clay bird. He felt the influx of Bijuu chakra – not the Oushi's but a darker, far more unpredictable and terrible chakra – and allowed the heightened senses to over take him, relying more on animal instincts than anything human.

"Let him go!"

The roar that surrounded them surprised Killerbee for a moment… until he realised that it was Naruto throat, his throat, from which it came from. The anguish in that cry reminded him of his cry for Yugito, upon seeing her dead and realising that she was gone forever.

It appeared that he was not the only one to form a bond of friendship with a fellow Jinchuuriki, though he could tell that Naruto and this…. Gaara had the most unstable reaction out of the two; both of these young men had been shunned their whole lives and were only now coming through, one as Kazekage and the other merely as unpredictable.

Emotions flashed before Killerbee's eyes as Gaara's corpse was left on the field and the head cradled by Naruto. Tear dribbled from his eyes as he shouted out to the field that no one understood, no one knew the pain… no one except the Jinchuuriki.

The Kyuubi relented in his connection and Killerbee realised that Naruto had felt much of what he had, only for a different person and a different place. Naruto had been lucky to regain Gaara and it made the man wonder how far the Hokage would do for him.

 **夢をみる**

Naruto felt the Hachibi leave his consciousness and turned round to see dark skin above him. He smiled brightly at Killerbee and a flash of teeth let Naruto know that the man was smiling back.

"Brother?"

Naruto took the outstretched hand and confirmed the question, "Brother."

The air around them relaxed as the Kyuubi and Hachibi relaxed their muscles. It was evident that the both of them had been anticipating a fight, even if they had tried to avoid one between the two highest wielders of power in the Elemental Nations.

Killerbee removed a clasp bracelet from his arm and passed it to Naruto, placing it on the upper bicep of Naruto's non-sword arm. The gold shimmered lightly and Naruto felt immense gratitude. As he had nothing on him save for the necklace Tsunade had granted him and his weapons, Naruto knelt to Killerbee.

"I swear on the Council of Bijuu that you have Konoha's protection as long as you seek it. We shall be a safe house to you in your times of need. We wish that you will visit our noble village and see for yourself what a Jinchuuriki may achieve when the odds stack against him."

Killerbee held out his hand and Naruto kissed the knuckles in an allegiance pledge. They could both feel time slipping away from them but Naruto had to know now what it was that Killerbee would do. The bracelet and the pledge had merely been official ways to tie themselves together and Naruto didn't want to lose such a royal card in his hand.

"I plan on leaving behind what I know. At least for a while… the title of Jinchuuriki weighs heavily down on me, Naruto, you must know that. It pains me to turn my back on the Lightning but I have to do it for the greater good. I am sick of being a tool… even if I came to Konoha, the Raikage would see it as a betrayal. He would not understand the bond between us… he didn't understand the bond between Yugito and I."

Naruto nodded slowly and sighed deeply. It was as he was afraid; the Raikage believed himself to be sympathetic to Jinchuuriki because he didn't show outright animosity to them and allowed them to be seen as heroes, protectors of the land.

Yet deep inside, he saw them as nothing as below animals, creatures that could form no attachments… mere beasts that held incredible power, a beautiful mind even, but nothing more. They could not feel, could not form emotions and could not seek companionship from fellow Jinchuuriki because it would be unnatural.

About as unnatural as a swan mating herself for life, that is.

"Swear to us, Naruto, brother, that you will keep our existence hidden from the Raikage and Cloud. Keep the Hachibi and I a secret, a calling card if you wish it, for the last hurdles of battle. Through this council we will have a link in our minds that you will use when you need our help, and I will use for your help. We will help you… but only when you are in need of it."

The silence that gathered around them was deafening and Naruto fought to keep the silent howling at bay.

"Swear brother, please."

Naruto ducked his head and his eyes glimmered as he brought his face back up.

"Swear loyalty to Konoha and I will swear to your secrets."

Killerbee looked shocked for a moment before he broke into a chuckle, the deep boom cutting through the silence that had remained gathered. Naruto tensed slightly, unsure if he was laughing at the request or the boldness.

"Oh, little brother… only one such as you would request such a thing. Unpredictable; I'll give you that one, but very well. I swear my devout loyalty to Konohagakure until the day I die. You know, that's more than my blood brother got out of me; he never made any of us swear an oath to the Cloud."

Naruto rose to his full height, as did the pair of Bijuu, and held a hand out to Killerbee. The elder did not even hesitate in taking the appendage and shook it strongly.

"Hokage-sama," he muttered before walking back to the Oushi and staring forwards until Naruto felt himself return to the weight of the world, a warm arm slung across his chest.

Naruto's eyes were wide in the darkness and if not for the cool metal upon his bicep, he would have assumed the meeting at the Council to be a dream.

One thing was for sure; he would be talking to Itachi and the Kyuubi again in the morning.

 **夢をみる**

"The Hachibi and his Jinchuuriki have sworn allegiance to Konoha if you keep their existence a secret?"

Naruto nodded and Itachi rested his head back on the pillows. After tossing and turning after he had woken from the meeting, Itachi had opened his eyes to meet with Naruto and got out of the bed without a single word. He had returned a few minutes later with two cups of coffee and settled himself back into bed, passing Naruto one of the cups.

The bed they lay in now was a double bed that, somehow (though Naruto suspected it was Shizune's way of apologising), had shown up in Naruto's room during the time he had been training with Fukasaku. It was a very comfortable bed and now allowed the two of them to spend their little hours of sleep together in warmth and content.

"If the Raikage has answered out letter then there is no doubt this will cause a rift in his trust… if he finds out that is. You will have to keep this the most secret you can. Is what… Killerbee…" Itachi was hesitant in saying the name and it rolled uneasily off of his tongue, "said true? Can you contact one another through a link in your minds?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulder and said that he didn't mind trying, reaching out to try feeling for the cold bovine connection he had severed last night. It was there, weak, but still there. He grasped on the ends and sent out a question to it, receiving an answer in a matter of seconds.

"He can hear me."

Itachi sunk into the covers and stretched his body out, limbs brushing against Naruto and making Goosebumps break out over his skin.

"We had best go see if the post has arrived yet then Naruto… give me five minutes and I'll be decent enough for you to use the bathroom."

It was the regular routine; Itachi would use the bathroom first and then, while Naruto was using the facilities, would cook breakfast. Neither of them showered in the mornings; there was too much that could happen in that short amount of time and they preferred to spend it together over butter and jam rather than separately in the shower.

Showers were restricted for the evening and it was always nice to know that you could come home and expect a refreshing, warm, shower.

They arrived at the office forty-five minutes later and Naruto allowed the Itachi-raven to circle the room a few times before he entered. Shizune greeted him merrily and brought in green tea for the pair, setting it down on the table as Naruto moved into the room. Shizune left the room and Itachi changed back into his human form, eyeing the table in discomfort.

On the table sat a letter marked with the insignia of the Cloud and Naruto felt his stomach plummet. He had to choose now whether it was to be the ties to his village that would make an ally or the ties to his birthright, the consequences of the Kyuubi attacking under Madara's influence, the title of Jinchuuriki would influence his choice. It would be a difficult choice and Naruto had already partially made it…

He now had to decide whether he could cope with lying to the Raikage about his brother while still having the knowledge literally in the back of his head.

 **Unconditional**

 **not limited by conditions; absolute: an unconditional promise**

 **無条件の**

"So where exactly did the meeting take place?"

Naruto played with the curled edge of the envelope as he tilted his head to the side, thinking about the answer to Itachi's question. The pair of them was going over the meeting between Naruto and Killerbee for the final time in order to check that they had every available piece of information on it they could.

"The Council of Bijuu; it's an abandoned hall that used to house the nine of them. When one of the nine powers left the hall, their combined power shattered and the safe hold, the place that kept their existence hidden from Shinobi, broke; allowing their individual powers to be warped and twisted."

Itachi nodded slowly before looking out of the ever famous window and to the sun gleaming down on Konohagakure.

"Well, that just about concludes our little dream talk… I will go to the Kyuubi later; he is sleeping at the moment."

Naruto caught Itachi's raised eyebrow and automatically knew the question behind the facial expression. He grinned and explained how he felt that the Kyuubi was asleep. Itachi offered no resistance to that fact; merely accepting it, which, Naruto suspected, was very plausible. Even if Naruto had been lying about the newly created link, Jinchuuriki were a marvel to normal human beings and it could be a very true explanation.

"Well then, how about we spend a day to ourselves? Recently, with the war against Akatsuki and the overload to both you and Tsunade-sama, the village hasn't been walked upon by the Hokage as a social call… I think it would be nice to remind the people that you care for them and intend to listen to their needs; I suppose that is where many Kages fail."

Naruto nodded and stood up, donning his Hokage cloak and shrugging his shoulder for Itachi to perch upon. Itachi made a fuss and rolled his eyes in an over dramatic gesture while morphing slowly into the raven form that was now his second skin.

Naruto wondered what it would be like to change your form so fluidly into an animal. It wasn't a henge; a henge was merely an illusion place around your body that morphed the structure of your body, still leaving you as you. For example, you could henge into a rock, but you wouldn't be the rock. You'd still be human.

But with Itachi's technique, he was a full raven. Somehow his body had been completely morphed to contain it within the shell of a bird's and Naruto wondered if it was something he had learnt whilst in the company of the Raven Elders, as Fukasaku had mentioned.

All of these were questions for up on the roof, in the spare minutes they had between planning and signing documents.

Speaking of documents, Naruto looked over his free shoulder to see the neat pile of completed forms, resisting the urge to curl his palm into a fist and then jerk his arm back, shouting 'oh yeah, take that Baa-chan' whilst making the action.

Itachi cawed softly into his ear and Naruto grinned at the ebony clad animal, nodding as he did so. It was Itachi's little way of telling him to hurry up so that he could fly.

That was another thing; Naruto wondered what it would feel like to fly. Sure, he had been in the air before, jumped through the forces of gravity of just flung his body from some peak… but to fly of your own accord? The only humans he knew who could do it were Itachi and Sasuke, the elder because of the raven form and the latter because of his cursed seal transformation… or at least, when he had the cursed seal.

For a brief moment, Naruto contemplated the notion that Itachi had been jealous that Sasuke, too, could fly, but dismissed it as another 'ridiculous Naruto thought'; Itachi had done it out of the love for his brother and nothing more.

The love that would never be reciprocated.

Now there was the odd thing; Itachi had never sought anything but revenge out of Sasuke. He had willingly placed his life on the line countless times and every time had to deal with the hatred Sasuke shot towards him. It was the love only families felt; unconditional love, and Naruto wondered if that extended to him.

Naruto's thoughts had been made clear a few times; Tsunade had managed to abate the thoughts – for now – that Itachi was merely seeking compensation but something niggled deep within Naruto. He knew it wouldn't be long before the Akatsuki came down on Konoha, even more so now that they knew Naruto led them, and that would be the time that Itachi revealed his true colours, his true nature.

Grasping the wooden handle, Naruto pulled the door open and they were off, Shizune tilting her head as she looked at them in curiosity. Naruto smiled back at her and waved, ignoring any further looks from the people milling in the corridors.

He knew why they were looking at him of course; he had never really been out of his office at this time of day before, especially for a mere walk.

Naruto corrected himself; this wasn't just a mere walk, he would be visiting friends and villagers, each one of them part of his family.

Itachi showed unconditional love towards Sasuke and even to Konoha, Naruto realised as he developed his thoughts, the footsteps he trod seemingly echoing in the hallway, even though he knew they weren't.

Maybe they weren't so different, he mused, Uchiha and Namikaze, two to have formed a relationship and two who unconditionally loved the village of Konoha. They were also the two men who held the most power of all Konoha in the upcoming war, simply because of who they were and what they were.

Take Itachi; he had a profile on each of the Akatsuki members and, even if he couldn't specify details, he knew the basics and techniques that each remaining original member would use. He was also a wonderful Shinobi… a wonderful Shinobi that was supposed to be dead. And there was the second point on the pros of Itachi; secrecy,

As for Naruto; he had formed an alliance with the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki – the only remaining true Jinchuuriki aside from Naruto himself – and powerful allies across the nations. One of his closest friends was the Kazekage and, if things went well, the Raikage could be up for an alliance.

Of course, that would take some sugar coating, especially as Killerbee was most definitely not dead.

As Naruto stepped into the sun, Itachi launched from his shoulder and into the clear skies. It always amazed Naruto at how easily a large bird could become airborne, it did take a lot of flapping and ungraceful propelling but the result was one of true elegance.

"Naruto?"

Naruto's head snapped open and he found brown eyes peering curiously down at his own. He smiled after recognising the irises and the man drew him into a light hug.

"How are you, Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and asked why Naruto insisted on keeping the suffix attached to his name, when technically the Hokage should simply call him Iruka. Naruto had replied with a smile,

"Because you will always be my teacher, Iruka-sensei, and I may not use the suffix from time to time but it's how I know you… it's who you are. Even if you quit being a teacher."

Iruka chuckled and ruffled Naruto's hair.

"So where are you off to on this fine day?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "I wasn't sure. I haven't been around recently and Ita… I thought it was a good idea to take a walk around, talk to some people and maybe catch up with my friends. I haven't been a very good one to them recently and I'm sure some of them may be a little bitter about that fact."

Iruka looked at Naruto with pride in his eyes and Naruto questioned him upon it.

"No, nothing… it's just that I can't help but think what an amazing person you are, Naruto. You know that your friends may not be the best pleased with you after a long absence and yet you're so prepared to just jump back in there to make it up to them. You really are one in a million and I never want to see that change. Promise?"

In a childish gesture, Naruto held out his hand, three fingers and a thumb curled so that only the thin pinkie finger remained. Iruka chuckled lightly and reciprocated the gesture, linking the two appendages and muttering the age-old oaths that were married to the finger promise.

"Well, in that case I shan't keep you Naruto. Just to let you know… it's Thursday today and the chosen spot for today is Ichiraku ramen. In case you didn't know, Ichiraku's has expanded their territory. Apparently one hard working man kept ordering double the amount of Ramen and they received a sudden influx of money, deciding to build a larger seating area and more people came to sample the Hokage's favourite food."

Iruka winked at Naruto before wishing him a farewell and walked off into the Hokage tower, presumably for Missions duty. Naruto watched him go with a small smile on his face; Iruka always seemed to bring out the best in his Hokage and Naruto thanked him for it. It was always nice to have someone who understood you yet did not pry into your secrets. For Naruto, Iruka was such a person.

Itachi was circling overhead and Naruto watched in amusement as the black feathers reflected the sunlight. Itachi dipped low and his caw echoed round the space they stood in; Naruto understood, however, and nodded in reply. It was time for them to move on and Naruto's feet took the path he knew Ichiraku ramen to be.

The traditional stall was still there, except there was a wooden frame that held a canvas roof and walls, just off the side of the counter. It was, Naruto assumed, the extra seating.

Sure enough, when he pushed back the white sheet, he saw that almost every seat was filled. Men, women and children of all ages sat, either eating ramen or chatting animatedly. Naruto's eyes filled with warmth as he saw the happiness of each table and walked up to the table.

"Naruto?"

It was the second time that day that his name had been used as a question and Naruto felt his lips quirk up in a smile.

"Good afternoon, Teuchi-san, I had heard a rumour that you had expanded but to this extent?"

The man behind the counter chuckled and Ayame pushed him back to the cooking apparatus, shaking her head.

"It's good to see you again Naruto! We've been getting a lot of orders from you via either Shizune-san or Tsunade-sama but it never beats a visit in person… even if you're not eating."

Naruto chuckled in a light hearted manor and nodded to her questioning look. In an instant, Ayame's head snapped back to her father and she barked out order's for 'The Usual'. Naruto assumed it was what Tsunade had been giving him and Itachi recently and was pleased to find that he wasn't disappointed.

"There you go."

Naruto thanked the pair and his eyes looked over to the crowded seating area. A large group of people caught his attention and his body yearned to be seated amongst them suddenly. Not one of them had noticed him yet, a fact he was thankful for. He had the choice; turn and walk away or go and sit down with them.

"I thought you always rose to a challenge, Naruto… wouldn't want to stain that record of yours now would you? And," Ayame held up a hand as Naruto opened his mouth, "you can't say that you're busy. If you were busy, you wouldn't have come all the way down here just to collect your lunch."

Teuchi nodded behind her and Naruto sighed heavily.

"Wish me luck then," the pair obliged and Naruto slipped the bag on the counter into his hands, picking his way through the crowds.

This was what he loved about Ichiraku's; no one paid any attention to him. Sure, they moved out of the way when he asked them to or just out of common courtesy, but it was letting someone through, not necessarily the Hokage.

The group concerned didn't look up until they noticed a shadow looming over them. Oddly enough it was Sakura who made the first move, breaking the icy silence that had overtaken the conversation.

"Sai! Move up, let Naruto sit down. How are you Naruto? It's been a while but none of us wanted to intrude… Tsunade-sama mentioned that you've been extremely busy recently, otherwise we would have stopped by."

Sai nodded in confirmation and soon, hesitant murmurs and agreement sounded around the group. Naruto seated himself between Sai and Sakura almost awkwardly and the group looked at him as he cleared his throat.

"I… well I just wanted to say that… things have been busy but – but it's no…" He trailed off, unsure of how to word himself. Sai shifted in his seat, pushing his head back a little, and Naruto saw a new addition to the group; the man he had taken from ROOT. His eyes widened and a smile illuminated his features,

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for hardly being here recently. Even Tsunade managed to spend time with her friends and I've been an inconsiderate friend to you. It would be my greatest honour if you could find it in your hearts to forgive a crappy friend such as me."

The group's silence remained until Kiba broke it with a barking laugh.

"Naruto you idiot. You're the Hokage… of course you'll be busy! We'd be selfish if we got pissy every time you couldn't make it."

Shikamaru's favourite three syllables accompanied Kiba's mini speech; "Troublesome."

"Thank you," and Naruto opened the bag, pulling out the warm ramen and tucking in, discussing trivial things such as who was dating who and how long they had been together.

"And you Naruto? Anyone caught your eye since you've been Rokudaime?"

Naruto glared at Sai as he spoke and shook his head, swallowing the last mouthful of ramen and sitting back in his chair. Sakura tilted her body back so that she leant against him slightly and he turned his body to accommodate her weight, knowing that now everyone could see him.

"In all honesty, no. Have any of you recently had the 'STI' talk from Iruka-sensei? I was given the honour a couple of days ago and let me tell you… I never want to meet Chlamydia-sama ever."

Everyone at the table blanched and Sai shook his head slightly;

"Did he go into genital warts?"

Naruto's body shook as he nodded, confirming the horror.

"With pictures."

The group recoiled and avoided looking at each other. A drawling voice broke the silence and blue eyes looked into Naruto's own.

"So we heard that you've been off training? Sakura took the time out from organising stuff at the hospital to go search around Ame with Kakashi-sempai and Sai but where exactly did you go Naruto-sama?"

Naruto's skin shivered as Ino added the suffix on and knew that she was a slippery one. She had been trained from birth how to use the human mind to manipulate and it was no surprise that a single word could be spoken almost in a threat like manner. She would definitely go far in life.

"Well, Ino, I have to admit that I cannot disclose everything as I may once have done because I would possibly break some rules that I laid down myself…. But I have been training with the Toads at their Sacred Temples in the Sage arts."

Naruto pushed his sleeve down a little in order to make sure that they wouldn't see the pale mark left behind by the Kyuubi. In a short while, Naruto knew he would receive something from Fukasaku – a small frog summon had explained it to him a few hours ago. It would, apparently, help in advancing his training and help him to capture the full potential of the Sage Arts.

"Well, let's just hope this secret training of our Hokage's has worked!" The group laughed at Ino's raised voice and a few people looked over in the restaurant. A queue had formed by the counter and Teuchi kept shooting glances over at Naruto's group, hoping that they would possibly leave soon so other customers could be seated.

They picked their bowls up and trooped over to the counter, thanking both Ayame and Teuchi politely before exiting the canvas tent. The teams split their various ways, leaving Sai and Sakura alone with Naruto. The ex-ROOT had excused himself to go back to their work, which Naruto assumed was the breaking of the organisation Danzou had left in Naruto's care.

"Naruto…"

Naruto turned to look at Sakura and nodded hesitantly.

"Thank you and, before you say anything, I would just like to say that I am so sorry for my previous behaviour. What I said and did was disgusting and I'm ashamed of myself. You do not have to forgive me for those actions but I just wanted to make it clear how I felt."

Naruto watched in amazement as Sakura bowed slightly, dipping her head to reveal the pale skin at her neck. It was the complete gesture of submission; if they had been animals, Sakura would be offering her jugular for the final crushing bite that would kill her.

As it was, Naruto smiled at Sai secretively before wrapping his arms around the woman before him and hugging her tightly.

"There is nothing to forgive, Sakura. Just because of some hateful words and a few actions doesn't mean I will lose a friendship that means more to me than ramen." Naruto chuckled at Sakura's outraged face, "Yes, you're more important than ramen. All of my friends are; ramen is replaceable."

The words were simple but Sakura's face broke into the largest smile Naruto had seen in a while. She kissed him on the cheek and turned to Sai, giving him a kiss too. The males waved goodbye as she turned on her heel and skipped down the path, obviously intent on returning to her hospital duties.

"So, Naruto, would you and Itachi like to come and visit ROOT? We're getting on very well, managing to break through to a few people, but there's one main group that are resisting and they're threatening other people… I think the power of the Hokage is something they could use right now."

Naruto grinned and started after Sai; why did the man even bother phrasing it as a question when he already knew the answer?

 **無条件の**

Sasuke stared at the destruction of his room. Furniture was smashed into small wooden pieces and the feathers that had made up his pillow floated around the room, mocking him.

Slamming the door as he stormed from the room, Sasuke came face to face with Kisame's chest. He hated the fact that his brother's former partner was so damn tall and that the man found ever opportunity to tease him. It was almost as if he had an ulterior motive… but what could the man know that he didn't?

"Sasuke, how are we today? Feeling a little moody? Well, don't take it out on the room or Pein will think he has a rival. Heh, both of you are as moody as the other… only I wouldn't say it to Pein's face. See here's the difference between you two, he – hey, come back!"

Sasuke had begun to walk off, ignoring the man's annoying voice. How the hell had Itachi put up with him?

"Well, I know you're listening because you wouldn't want to miss any important information. As I was saying, Pein would have killed me by now but you… you're too rough around the edges. You're weak; you're pathetic."

Sasuke stopped as Kisame spoke the words Itachi had so many times. He whirled round to face the sword wielder and the man grinned at him.

"Madara wanted to meet you five minutes ago. I told him you wouldn't be late."

Sasuke cursed and brushed past the man, refusing to run but hoping that he wouldn't be late. That was one thing he had learnt since being here; Madara calls, you follow. On the event that you were late, if you ever contributed to the conversation, the 'Leader' would turn on you in a second and manipulate your words, patronising you as if you were a child.

He entered the room almost out of breath and placed a stony façade upon his body. Madara's head tilted to look at him and he crossed his legs in the godforsaken throne of his. It was just another reminder that he was 'supreme' and the Akatsuki merely his dogs.

"I wish to talk about something you suggested recently… and I feel it may be the only way to continue. Now that we know we failed at retaining the Hachibi, we need to set our sights on the Kyuubi, turn our attention to Konoha while they believe we're still going for the other beast. Their damned Hokage will certainly know by now that you failed," Sasuke hated the emphasis Madara placed on him, as if it was his entire fault.

"So he will most likely be waiting in a false sense of security, believing that he is safe. For the moment."

Sasuke nodded in slight agreement. He could not recall what it was that Madara was thinking of but that hardly mattered; the fact that Madara was thinking about a plan Sasuke had suggested brightened up the younger Uchiha's day considerably.

"I believe that the only way we can get to Konoha will be to send Pein in as a distraction, make it appear as if he is the one going for the Hokage. As you will be able to get into the Fire's defences undetected, it is part of the gift that Itachi passed onto you, and you will follow behind and kidnap the bijuu."

Sasuke's eyes bugged and he remembered that plan. Madara, before, had dismissed it as a stupid plan but ever since the failed sealing of the Hachibi, it was evident that a thousand plans had run through the mysterious man's head.

And, apparently, this one was the only plan that would work.


	4. Chapter 4

**Raven**

 **any of several large, corvine birds having lustrous, black plumage and a loud, harsh call, esp. Corvus corax, of the New and Old Worlds**

 **わたりがらす**

Naruto saw the men and women before him look at his cloak before reassessing their postures. Before, they had been slightly slouched and relaxed; now they were alert and upright, as would be expected of an inspection of troops.

Takahashi Kenji, the name given to the man who had been 'saved' from ROOT before, stood next to Sai as they welcomed Naruto, flanking behind him as he walked down the lines. The number of the group was substantially less – Sai had mentioned that others were quick to leave after Danzou died – but the time to get these soldiers back to what could be considered normal was running out.

A shadow passed over the sun as a black bird flew over the sun, blotting it from Naruto's eyes. Itachi-raven circled downwards and accepted the arm Naruto offered, dipping his beak to Sai and Kenji as he did so.

As Naruto walked into the office area, he could feel the ninja behind him relax, going back to their previous duties without a second thought. Naruto took a seat in front of the desk as the two men seated themselves behind it.

Naruto looked to Sai and flickered his gaze to Itachi, telling the bird that it was okay to transform if he so wished. In a second, Itachi stood behind the Hokage's chair with his hood pulled up and shadows covering his face.

"What exactly is your plan of action?"

Sai reached into the desk and pulled a ring binder from the depths, placing it carefully on the table. He flipped open to a page and ran a finger over a certain line.

"This is the planning folder Danzou left for us and, before we get into the specifics, there is something I need to tell you."

Naruto tilted his head in curiosity and Sai continued,

"I have had each of the group tested by a member of the Yamanaka clan and their claimed intentions seem to be their true intentions… and what I mean is that Danzou trained four members of his organisation to fit you perfectly. Of course they won't fit with anything you have learnt outside of Konoha, anything that is not recorded anyway, but these Shinobi have been trained so they could complete any flaws to your style."

Naruto shook his head a little, obviously knowing where this was going and knowing that he didn't want it.

"Danzou trained them to be your perfect guards, Naruto… He began the training when you first began in the Academy and had them observe you a few times to see what they could come up with. During your absence, Danzou trained them to the point of no return; all they have left is to serve you."

Naruto hid the pain laced into his eyes; Danzou's intentions may have been good, to protect the Jinchuuriki, the one who holds the key to the destruction of the world, but his methods were debatable. Naruto knew he would never be able to look at a member of his so called guard and stop himself from wondering how they would be without this duty.

"What do they call themselves?"

Sai shuffled a few papers and opened the ring on the folder. Naruto ignored the deep click it produced and stared at Sai.

"Danzou… he named them Team Karasu."

Itachi jolted slightly behind Naruto and the Hokage sighed heavily. The team he was supposed to accept as his private guard could very well be the reason Madara found out about Itachi; with Kisame knowing there was the added chance, but to flaunt it so openly?

"The plan with the remainder of the troops under Ne is to get them back to ANBU or lower, depending on what they'd rather. With the younger members, I'd personally like then to undergo a rehabilitation programme that mainly people who have been hostages or held in isolation for long periods of time undergo. ROOT could fund that, Danzou left quite a large sum of money for us to work with."

Naruto nodded his head slightly, agreeing with Sai's trail of thought. It would be good to get the younger people – people, who could, potentially, revert back to their true selves – back into society where they could mingle with people of their own ages and realise that life really wasn't so bad.

"Those who decline will have to be monitored severely and possibly even have to be contained somewhere before they are willing to re-knit the work Danzou broke."

Naruto nodded; it was the opposite of breaking something in. They had to restore people who had only been taught one thing throughout their whole lives and now Naruto was coming in to tell them that they had to change. Those who could and wouldn't were the ones who would need to be eased into everything, much like coaxing a frightened animal back to the object it was scared of with food and gentle voices.

The biggest challenge, however, would be working with the people who simply couldn't. These people mainly included the eldest members, the people who had lived this way for possibly their entire lives. They had been forced upon one way and they couldn't simply turn the other way; it would be a slow process of adapting the path step by step to gain control of their own lives again.

"Thank you very much, Sai, Kenji. I would like to hear reports as often as possible; I think once or twice a week will suffice. If it is not too much trouble, I should like very much to meet my guards now."

Sai nodded grimly and sent Kenji back to the ROOT, the job he would be undertaking today would be organising them into categorised groups and enlisting the help of fellow Shinobi to come up with an acceptable representation of each group on paper. From there the work really started.

They were led through the building, down numerous pathways and doors, before Sai stopped in front of one. As if it had been rehearsed, Itachi changed back to his raven form and settled back on Naruto's shoulder.

Sai bowed, uncustomarily, and Naruto's anxiety began to rise; what was behind these doors that put even Sai out of balance?

"Naruto-heika," a voice called from inside and Naruto pushed open the door, curious as to who had known he was outside.

The room was a starchy white and the four people in the centre instantly commanded attention. They were draped in black, flowing clothing; hardly useful for one who is a Shinobi. Even though their clothing was restricted, Naruto held no doubt that these people were insanely incredible.

As one, they turned their heads up to face Naruto and Itachi, bowing to the presence of both. Naruto resisted the urge to flinch as their faces were revealed; identical, black masks were placed over their features, and the face of a wide-eyed raven stared out at Naruto in the same white as the room.

"We have been preparing for a long time, Naruto-heika."

Naruto was disturbed at the use of the suffix; once he could pass off for a mistake but to call him 'majesty' twice? He was no sovereign, he was simply a Hokage, a Shinobi who had fought his way to protect his village and yet these people saw him close to a king? How could they be his guards when they believed something that was that preposterous?

"Preparing for what?" Naruto's voice was a lazy drawl, as if he held no interest in the people before him.

"Preparing for the day we would meet the Child of the Prophecy and his companion. You are held in highest regards amongst the Clans of the Ravens, Itachi-denka."

Passing aside the similar suffix to his, Naruto couldn't help wonder how exactly these people knew the raven was Itachi. As if determining that it would be better to resume this odd encounter in his human form, Itachi stood tall next to Naruto. Naruto could tell by the way his shoulders were tensed that he was ready for an attack if such an event should fall upon them.

"Do I get your names?"

"Karasu," the group chanted as one and Naruto frowned. These people were seemingly caught between a state that the ROOT ANBU was in and lunacy. There was something definitely wrong with them but, for the life of him, Naruto had no clue what.

"Why have you trained for so long to protect me?"

The group fell silent before one member rose from their crouched position, bowed once, and spoke,

"It was told to us when the Rokubi, the Demon of Five Tails, crossed out paths. The Jinchuuriki to the Bijuu had held previous connections to the Elder Clans of the Ravens, his family having once been bound with them, meaning that we had a connection to him deeper than that of normal humans."

A second raised their head and took the place of the first, as the first speaker settled back into the crouch.

"The Jinchuuriki told us of a great fate that was to come; he was plagued by fractured visions of the future."

The second figure stepped back to join the group, a third taking their place and continuing the tale;

"We were told that the vision that had been the most held together was us coming to Konoha, the four black ravens surrounding the Prophecy's One."

As the other two had, the last member filled the place of the third, their voice gravelly and, to Naruto, ominous.

"When we looked to the bones of the ravens for confirmation, they told us that our trail ended with you, Naruto-heika. It ended with Konoha and the promise that the Prophecy bestowed upon you would be fulfilled."

The last speaker fell into the crouched position with the group and Naruto waited for the information to sink in. While almost none of it made any sense, it seemed like these four strangers claimed they saw the future via a Jinchuuriki. They had accepted the future and come to Konoha. There was one last thing that Naruto didn't understand (aside from the specifics such as the raven boned) and he questioned them upon it,

"What about after the prophecy? You said it 'ended'?"

The group chattered for a moment, uncannily like their namesakes, and Itachi glanced to Naruto, confusion and apprehension clear in his eyes. That made Naruto feel slightly better; if Itachi was as confused as him then he didn't feel as if he was being left out on anything.

After all, Itachi had visited the ravens the Karasu group spoke of so highly of, and if he wasn't clear on points then it must mean that these people spoke of things either the Uchiha did not know of or were, quite simply, mad.

"It ends."

"There is no more."

"The Prophecy has been fulfilled."

"It ends with you."

The four answers Naruto received shocked him, none more so than the final answer. He looked at the gravelly-voiced person hidden behind the mask and inched closer. The group shifted their cloaks around themselves and waited patiently.

"What do you mean it ends with me? How can I understand what you mean when you speak in riddles?"

The room was silent and Naruto was very aware of everyone's breathing. His own breath was falling in heavy puffs, almost so loud that it was becoming an annoyance. Itachi's breathing was controlled, softer, and the members of Team Karasu breathed slowly, deep lung full's of air that reduced the amount of breaths they had to take. Naruto supposed it was something trained into them.

"With your permission, Naruto-heika, Itachi-denka, we wish to be the ones to guard you against any infiltrations. It is our belief – and the Karasu Clan's belief – that if Akatsuki succeed in their goals, then the warnings of the Prophecy will be true; we will end."

And Naruto knew that; it would end because he would be the destructor of the world. Either way, if he had the Kyuubi taken from him then he would be allowing the Akatsuki their final and ultimate weapon. Even remembering the promise he had mentioned to Itachi; the promise that he would kill the Kyuubi no Kitsune should everything else fail, would most likely end up in such a large amount of destruction. That amount of chakra could not just disappear.

"But you said it ended anyway, why bother?"

The one who owned the gravelly voice stood up and flicked their long hair back from the mask.

"Because you could be the saviour and the world would still end. Either way, the world we know now is drawing to an end; a war that will shape even the stars outside of our universe is coming and it will change our land. If you save us all, Naruto-heika, then you will have changed the opinions of others throughout the worlds… you would have made this world a better place maybe, or a worse place.

"It depends on you, Naruto-heika. What sort of person are you? I know you saved Itachi-denka here but could you save the world?"

Naruto's eyes widened as he realised what the speaker was saying; either way, win or lose, the world was going to change.

It was just a tossup between being saved and being cursed.

 **わたりがらす**

Madara waited for Sasuke to sit at the table before placing his legs on the very same table and leaning back in his chair. They were there for one thing and one thing only; planning. Although it was laid out very much like a family dinner, there was such a thing as tolerance.

Something Uchiha Madara had very little of.

It was a simple meal; a pie of some sorts that was supposed to be good for your body and provide the correct nutrients. Madara hadn't been listening to the woman Karin when she was chattering on about it and didn't care in all honesty; it was food, it was there and he was hungry, nothing more, nothing less.

Sasuke was sitting quietly, for once, and Madara wondered where the so-called spirit had gone. It was probably down the drain with the previous plans. It was a good thing, really, that Sasuke had been knocked down a few… not so much the circumstances that had brought it along.

Of course, those circumstances being the fact that they had lost the Hachibi for now and had used up a lot of chakra for nothing. He knew now that he shouldn't have sent Sasuke on that mission, but who else had there been? Zetsu? The man would have rather sat doing nothing and god forbid that Madara himself fought against one of those demons.

"Do you have any ideas on the plan?"

Sasuke's head snapped up to Madara and the man forced himself to remain stoic as he ate his food. Sasuke was still so young and, because of his upbringing, he was still so green. He was untrained to the world of war and Madara would have fun watching it break him.

"No," was the short reply and Sasuke pushed his food around a little, retreating into himself. Obviously he wasn't going to contribute further so Madara began.

"Well, as I mentioned, I'll be sending Pein in first. Kisame will be on back up and you, and your team, will take part in the kidnapping. Because you are the only one out of all of them who can get in undetected – though Pein will try to get the information out of Kisame – you will be able to get closest to our target during the confusion."

Sasuke nodded, absorbing all of the information.

"What will you do, Sasuke? You've screwed up and yet you're still here… does that say commitment or desperation?"

Sasuke looked squarely into Madara's eyes and he bit back the burn of Amaterasu.

"Desperation is for those who have nothing left. I have everything left; Konoha needs to pay the price of its betrayal."

Madara nodded and took a sip of the red wine that was at his side. The liquid trickled down his throat and settled in his stomach.

"But why? Your best friend… former best friend," he corrected, "if the Hokage. What if old feelings get dredged up and you turn on us? I can't just accept that if it were to happen, Sasuke, I have to know that you're in this one hundred percent or none."

Sasuke's eyes hardened to glazed ruby and Madara sat back, waiting for his answer.

"Konoha has given me nothing while Itachi gave me everything."

"Ah, but didn't Itachi do everything for Konoha?" Madara contradicted.

"He placed my wellbeing above Konoha's. I was more important to him than Konoha ever was and, if he were still alive, I would still be far more important to him. That is who Itachi is, who he was."

Madara did not want to correct Sasuke on the fact that he had not known Itachi at all when he was alive, rather he had been fed a bunch of fabricated lies, misled to know it was the truth. But who was he to deny what the brat thought if it gained speed in his plans?

"Are you with me or against me?"

Sasuke paused for a moment and pushed the plate away, all food left untouched.

"Without a doubt I am with you; Konoha needs to suffer for what it did to our Clan, what the Senjuu clan made our family go through and the treatment of Uchiha. I want Konoha overthrown, I want it in shambles, I want to see Itachi's death become avenged and the only way to do that is to take the Advisors from their rotten power seats and take Naru- the Kyuubi."

And, of course, Madara did not miss the slip. So the younger of them still considered the Jinchuuriki a human eh? Well that would change very soon.

Madara rose from his seat and nodded to Sasuke, dismissing him in the same gesture. The Uchiha left and Madara was once more alone, plotting things in the ever darkening state of his mind.

 **わたりがらす**

So where is your new guard, Naruto?

Naruto's eyes rolled lazily over to the giant head beside him. As the jaw of the Kyuubi opened and closed, the huge head bobbed up and down and also sent the water on the floor into a mad frenzy of crisscrossing ripples.

"They are committing the general geography of Konoha to memory and finding the weak points in the chain."

The Kyuubi hummed in approval and sighed deeply.

You know, Naruto, what they said about meeting another Jinchuuriki is true. I also knew of the Rokubi; she had a most curious power. Fragmented dreams of the future, being able to see snapshots of the future…

"Did she ever see the destruction of your safe hall?"

The fox chuckled.

No, no one can predict everything.

Naruto rubbed the mark on his arm and the Kyuubi watched him as he did so, wondering why he scratched it when there was no itch. Naruto told him that it was more of habit now, the reassurance that something so strange and obvious was still there, still defining who he was.

The Akatsuki will be after you soon; now that the bumblebee and the ox have gone into temporary hiding, they will be after you. Madara thinks that you are in a false sense of security; he will know that you know they were unable to seal the Hachibi… but he will think that you believe they will go after it.

Naruto nodded, the Kyuubi was right.

"They will attack now then."

Silence was the affirmative response.

"Will Sasuke be amongst them? It would be so much easier if I had to battle people that I did not know, had no attachment towards."

I know it would, but there are certain things that you cannot control. It is a simple twist of fate; at the Valley of the End both you and Sasuke fought... and both Hashirama and Madara fought. Time is an endless, repetitive circle and it wears you down.

There was no other statement that could explain time better than that and Naruto knew that the Kyuubi knew this better than anyone.

Be careful of bumblebee, Naruto. I do not trust th4e ox as well as I would like and I feel that he is like me; selfish in his choices. He would choose self preservation above us, just as I would if the places were switched.

Naruto noticed the bloodshot quality to the eye and walked over to the bars.

"Why don't you try to take my body over anymore? Whenever I am called into here you always talk to me, as if I were something of an equal to you."

You know the answer to that Naruto. Madara chained me yet you… you have not bound me at all.

Offering no other words, The Kyuubi turned on his tail and Naruto felt himself drifting away from the holding cell, back to the cold night in Konoha.

Itachi was sleeping when Naruto rolled over and he looked at the moonlight pouring in through a slight crack in the curtains, spilling a silver light over Itachi's cheeks. In this midnight light, Itachi looked stunningly serene. His aristocratic features were given a new depth and it made Naruto wonder how Itachi would look in later years, how his expressions of nothings would change to joy, happiness and maybe even love.

Where would he be? A Hokage of sixteen years yet no one to call his love? Is that the complete definition of loneliness? Naruto did not know exactly but he did know that he hated every single moment of loneliness and would rather die.

Looking back up to the ceiling, Naruto felt a hand grasp his own, pulling him closer to the warm mass of Itachi. A smile broke through Naruto's face and he looked up into the sleep hazed eyes of Uchiha Itachi.

"Go t'sleep, no one should sleep alone."

Those eight words sent Naruto's heart soaring as he wrapped his arms around Itachi, seeking heat and comfort from the elder. He had no idea what love could be, but here – in Itachi's arms – he had found someone who understood him so wholly, so beautifully that he had to wonder…

 **Misery**

 **wretchedness of condition or circumstances**

 **みじめさ**

The sky appeared to be raining fire and Naruto knew, he knew, that it was from some catastrophic influence, aided by his refusal. How this knowledge came to him, though, he had no idea. Glancing around the room where he resided – shirtless and chained to a wall – Naruto noticed the objects; four feathers, a small doll with eyes that glinted as the fire from outside streaked past the window, a book that showed the basic structure of an atom and a letter with the black feathered quill to the left side.

They pooled around him in a circle and Naruto wondered why exactly they were important, what did they mean?

The four feathers were easy; they were obviously Naruto's guards. The chains against the walls clanked as Naruto shifted his weight, attempting to gather the objects and failing. The next object, the doll, was a much harder thing to guess. Its eyes were alight with a fire, a fire that Naruto had once seen when a shooting star careered over the Fire country, and he wondered if it could be hinting to a star.

That just left the actual doll. It looked like a child, a child with a leering grin. There were marks on the doll's cheeks and Naruto gasped as it hit him; this doll was Kisame.

Could Kisame be the one to betray them? Had Itachi misjudged his character terribly and would he bring about the downfall? Was he the reason Naruto was here, chained and beaten?

The book was a mystery; unless Pein's techniques had something to do with the manipulation of atoms or something, Naruto was clueless. To have a book there made no sense so he guessed that the picture was the clue.

Naruto knew that letter. He had not seen it yet but it ripped into him, a well of anger and sorrow billowing up. The quill sparkled as the fire outside intensified and Naruto looked away, his chest shredding as he did so. It was obvious; the last one was representing Itachi.

But what did they all mean? The only common link was him – Naruto – so why exactly was he here? He had clues, possible answers to how he ended up in this situation, but no hard evidence, no closure on the matter, nothing to show that he hadn't just destroyed everything on a whim.

Could he do that?

The mark on his arm glowed softly and Naruto felt the energy tingle throughout his body, an inhuman roar ripping from his mouth as a cloaked man stepped from the shadows. He turned and revealed his face to be covered by a swirled orange mask, with one spinning eye.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Naruto."

Naruto shuddered as the voice rolled over his senses and he almost, almost, lost check of the Kyuubi. The fox was panting, straining against every instinct Naruto had, urging him to break his own bones, destroy his limbs to be free of the manacles and pour everything into one attack at the man.

"You do not know how much trouble you put us through and we're truly sorry that Konoha had to suffer… we did give you options though."

And, at that moment, Naruto knew Madara was being serious. He knew that this could not be something he dreamt up, something that he was merely a witness to in the safety of his own bed. Nothing this frightening could ever occur and simply be a dream.

And these options? Why couldn't he remember them? How had he chosen the 'wrong' option… and if he was ever faced with a choice again, how would he know which one was the right option?

There was one simple thing left; Itachi was gone, Karasu were nowhere to be seen, Kisame was somewhere – perhaps even on the other side – and the last person was still unknown. Naruto was alone with the Kyuubi and now he had to make good of his promise, live up to the only thing he wished he would never be able to fulfil; killing the Kyuubi.

He didn't even have to search deeply; the Kyuubi was there, on the edge of his consciousness, waiting for the call. Figures danced beneath his eyelids as Madara took one step closer. The Kyuubi stood in front of Naruto, waiting for the man's move. Naruto walked serenely up to the fox and opened his eyes to Madara, who was now a hair's breadth away,

"You will never get us."

With the final syllable uttered, Naruto unleashed every ounce of Sage Chakra the glowing mark of the Kyuubi on his arm had collected, channelling it at the creature who bestowed the gift. Chains sprung up around the fox at Naruto's will as he literally bent the fox to his will, crushing bone and rubbing flesh. Not even Madara had been able to exercise this control over the Kyuubi and something hideously wonderful flowed through Naruto's veins.

Another set of eyes locked onto Naruto's mind and he shuddered from the force of impact, the weight of his deed crashing down around him; this was the Kyuubi, he would not be able to simply kill the Bijuu without anything happening.

It was too late now and Naruto's head spun as the Kyuubi finally counterattacked, red chakra flickering wildly. Heat grew inside of Naruto's body and he opened his eyes to see the lone Sharingan eye staring mockingly at him.

And he knew, in that instant, that he was dying, the world was dying, he had failed and no one could save –

Naruto bolted upright, sweat pouring down his face. His bed sheets were sprawled around the mattress and they were cool from the damp sweat they had soaked up. The blond grimaced at the sight before keeling over suddenly, head falling into his lap and hands twitching as the memories of the… dream? returned.

His hand skittered across the sheet, feeling for any traces of Itachi. There was no hand to cling onto, no warming touch that he could grip to in an effort to forget the dream. There was no one to comfort him in this dark hour so he did what any normal person would; he got up.

Bare footsteps trudged along the wooden floors as Naruto made his way down to the kitchen. He looked at the counter, half expecting the white note from the dream to be there and found himself to be happily disappointed. He did not know what the letter spoke of exactly but it couldn't have been a good thing.

The kettle boiled absently as Naruto milled over the dream. When the water had boiled, he poured some into a mug and brought the cup up to his lips, blowing on the steam as it rose. He was about to take a sip when he realised that it was a simple mug of boiling water and he'd forgotten to add anything else.

Naruto rolled his eyes before putting the mug on the kitchen counter and walking back upstairs, intent on going to the office early to get everything out of his head. Maybe if Tsunade had been plagued by weird dreams then she might have got more paperwork done… or just drunk more sake.

Upon entering the Hokage tower, a few of the night-shift Shinobi looked at Naruto with wide eyes, nodding their heads hesitantly as if they had seen a ghost. Maybe Minato had come in early a few times, he wondered, and they had been immersed in the past… so to see the lone Namikaze through the halls was a wakeup call, reminding these men and women that the past was forever gone.

It was still dark outside, not even the sun had reached the earth yet. The window of Naruto's office sparkled with dew as the very first rays of sun hit the glass, shattering the darkness into thousands of dotted sparkles.

The Hokage shook himself out of his thoughts as a tapping on the window sounded, shaking the sparkles from their resting place and splaying a dark shadow across the room. Naruto quietly unbolted the widow, allowing both the bird and the cool morning air to breach his warm office.

"Naruto!"

Itachi's voice was shaky, almost panicky, as he gripped Naruto's shoulders, eyes red Sharingan blurring between spinning and stationary. Fear welled up inside of Naruto as Itachi sunk into a chair, hands gripping at the arm rest.

"I thought that… with you not in the house and you always are and stuff – that, that you'd-"

Naruto smiled softly and walked up to Itachi, placing his body between the Uchiha's legs and wrapping his arms around his body. Itachi tilted his head to the side and heard Naruto's heartbeat, soothing, calming and strong.

"It's okay Itachi, don't you always know to check here and Ichiraku ramen before panicking?"

Itachi pulled himself from Naruto's grasp and stood, bending slightly to kiss Naruto's mouth softly. Naruto smiled against the elder's lips and pulled him closer, head fitting nicely against Itachi shoulder as the man resumed full height. A deep chuckle built up in Itachi's chest and Naruto couldn't help but join in the light laughter after a few moments.

After they released each other – the sun now fully risen – Itachi sighed wearily and explained where he had been,

"I've been watching Karasu. Their actions seem true to what they have supposedly been trained to do; they spent the night wandering around and checking each entrance point's defences, but never showing themselves to the Shinobi who were manning the points."

Naruto's eyes widened,

"You mean that they were able to get around undetected?"

Itachi nodded grimly and Naruto sighed. If these 'bodyguards' had been able to hide from the Shinobi at the gates then it was either a very good thing – for Naruto at least, that they were on his side – or a very bad thing, the bad thing being that his own ninja were unable to sense them.

"I spoke to them briefly… they are more than they appear."

Itachi had a wry grin on his face and Naruto looked at him questioningly.

"I'm afraid that is all I can say, there are pacts between the branches of Raven clans and as they are the highest rank…"

Naruto nodded, pondering over the structure of these clans. There were no clans in the Toads, just the boss summon, Gamabunta, his descendants and the others. Naruto supposed there could be a clan backbone, after all, most of the summons had names beginning with Gama – frog. There could be a human clan linked to them, it wasn't too preposterous.

"Are you part of any clan?"

Itachi shook his head; "No, the Uchiha were never emitted into a pact with a type of Summon. I believe that the Namikaze are linked with frogs… it makes sense why both you and your father were able to take upon the summon without marking yourself."

Naruto frowned and questioned Itachi on what he meant,

"Well, it's just that most people who aren't natural summoners will need a mark placed upon their bodies. Take Sasuke for example; he is not a natural summoner with snakes – the Uchiha didn't make a pact with snakes – so he has the mark on his wrist that he uses."

Naruto nodded, wondering why no one had told him this before. Sure it wasn't exactly essential but it could be a whole damn sight easier.

"So they still hold a contract but need to mark themselves in order for it to work?" Itachi nodded and Naruto continued, "What about you? Where's your mark?"

"There are certain circumstances that allow people to summon with no mark and yet not be in a clan. I would say that you are linked to the clan of toads on the Myobokuzan Mountain and I am linked to the ravens on their peak."

Naruto listened carefully; it was obvious that this was something no one knew, it was something that Itachi would never normally talk about and Naruto was thankful to be considered trustworthy enough to part the Uchiha from the information.

"They can adopt people into their orders. I was adopted by the ravens when they noticed I shared all the characteristics a clan that ended up producing the Rokubi Jinchuuriki – yes, the one who saw the parallel future to the toad's prophecy – and that is where I get most of my summons and skills from."

Naruto nodded and smiled. It was strange to have a reassurance that the Team Karasu had been speaking the truth but he was thankful for it.

Just as he was about to speak, a summoning spiral lit up on Naruto's desk and he looked at Itachi in alarm, just before the lines that sprouted out of the circle showed up. They showed the toad summon pattern and Naruto smiled, telling Itachi that it must be his delivery, the scrolls that would enhance his Sage Chakra abilities. Hopefully…

The large toad licked its mouth absently, lazily eyeing the Hokage and his companion. A pink tongue escaped its maw and lazily curled onto the table, revealing the slime-protected paper of the scroll. As soon as it rolled from the pink mouth, the toad saluted to Naruto and vanished, presumably back to Myobokuzan.

Unwrapping the scroll, Naruto studied the images and sentences under them. He smiled as he realised Fukasaku had simplified some of the moves, putting them into picture form and describing them in little ways. It was things like this, little things, that Naruto loved about people.

"It's the scroll Fukasaku sent me to help along my Sage chakra training. Apparently these movements will help enhance the usage and whatnot… I'll get to it later. There's one thing that I want to do first."

Itachi glanced up, eyes asking the question,

"I need to reply to the Raikage."

 **みじめさ**

Pein rolled his eyes as Madara entered with a bang. Before Madara had exposed himself as… well himself to the Akatsuki, they had called him the drama queen. All the time, Pein had bared it, knowing that there was one higher than him, one who would react ten times as worse.

Of course, there had been that little escapade when he had stormed out of the meeting, when Namikaze Naruto had been revealed at the Rokudaime Hokage… but passing that isolated incident aside, Madara was the stroppiest out of the two men.

"What do you want?"

Technically Pein didn't have to be polite to him. Pein didn't have to help with the Akatsuki, adopting the man's infernal 'alter-ego' and he certainly did not have to help Madara with this plan. So, therefore, why should he be polite when Madara needed his services and he was merely providing them.

Of course they wanted the same thing; world domination, absolute power and the destruction of anyone who opposes… secretly everyone wanted that. Some were just too afraid of doing something that the majority of people would call evil, or bad, that they hid the urge of power and wealth away behind gentleness and kindness.

So, even though they wanted the same thing, Madara was still an enemy. They were competing for the same thing and were partners of chance. Pein knew that Madara was likely to stab him in the back, if he hadn't already, and Madara probably suspected everyone was about to stab him in the back.

"What I want if for you to put something into the plan. You sit there like a fucking potato and then complain when things don't go right."

Pein snorted and placed his feet upon Madara's white table, tilting an eyebrow mockingly towards the 'king' seated upon his throne. Madara was no, and never would be, King. He was a rat, forgotten, hidden and diseased.

"Well maybe if someone with brains thought up these plans or asked me for my opinion on them, and I revealed that they were, in fact, complete shit, we wouldn't have these problems."

Madara rubbed his temples behind the mask, knowing full well what Pein was doing. He would, of course, make everything, every little detail, ten times more difficult than it needed to be.

"Fine. What are your thoughts, oh great one, on the plan where we kidnap the Hokage."

Pein chuckled at the reference to him being the 'great one' and answered,

"Did the runt think it up?"

Madara nodded slowly, as if he wanted to keep that information withheld. Pein tilted his head backwards, looking to the pristine ceiling.

"It's shit."

Madara stood up slowly, walked round his throne once before returning to a seating position.

"look, I don't like using his plan anymore that you do but we have nothing else. I've planned this and if we have the right amount of force we can take this on. You have your six bodies, Kisame will accompany you… and Sasuke will be back up. While you distract Konoha, Sasuke will use the Jinchuuriki's weakness as a chance to get through and kidnap him before anything else happens. He is the Hokage – yes – but even the Hokage has feelings."

Pein's Rinnegan met the Sharingan and he nodded once.

"I will get the information out of Kisame. Even if he won't tell anything, I'll search his head. It shouldn't take too long and there has to be something in that head of his… even if Itachi sealed it off with a Genjutsu of sorts. The Rinnegan didn't father your eyes for nothing, I can undo his work."

Of course Pein would never pass up the chance to brag about his skills, albeit in an abstract way.

"Kisame will tell us how to sneak into Konoha and then we set off for this kidnapping. It unsettles me that you actually want the runt to do this, with the screw up with the Hachibi and all… are you sure? I mean, this would be worse, think of the power we would lose."

"I'm going to check over the Jinchuuriki myself when it gets here and, as soon as you are a safe distance from Konoha, give the demon the once over to check he is alright. Then run like you were about to die – shove your pride – and get here as fast as your legs damn well let you, understand?"

Pein nodded and he knew that Madara would not appreciate being belittled or trodden on then. There were only a handful of times when Pein would never have even looked at Madara, excluding this; the time when Itachi had refused his advances (yes, he knew about that, it was obvious to everyone in the vicinity and the idiots Deidara and Hidan had placed bets on the matter), after Itachi's death and before he went to collect Sasuke and, more recently, the night Sasuke had botched up the sealing.

They were times when even Pein feared the man's power, and that was no trivial matter. He, Pein of the Rinnegan, child born of war and misery, companion of pain and destruction… feared the timeless Sharingan master.

Well, not master really. Itachi had been able to manipulate the bloodline beautifully – he'd even suggest that he could beat Madara if Itachi had taken Sasuke's eyes in the end. And lived… that would have helped too.

A name was an odd thing. His was Pein and in the French language, a language long forgotten and buried, peineheld a meaning close to misery. Maybe that was why he had chosen the name Pein once he had 'woken' as it were; maybe that was why he lived in the weeping city, God of every miserable existence it claimed.

Not even Madara could hold that title, and he was to be King of the new world?

Not bloody likely.

With a grim smile, Pein lifted his weight from the table and stood, holding a hand out to shake Madara's own.

"I shall go speak with Kisame now and leave at first light tomorrow. The next time I see you, I expect you to be ready for the Jinchuuriki. Tell Sasuke I won't wait for him and if he wants to visit his own home then he will be packed up and ready to go even before I'm awake."

Madara nodded, hating the fact that Pein was giving him ordered and watched the man as he went. Although he hated to say it, he would be damned without Pein.

All that was left before everything fitted nicely together would be to go see the 'runt' as Pein had christened him, rather appropriately, and inform him of his 'God's' wishes.

Not for the first time Madara pondered if there was too much testosterone in the Akatsuki, before dismissing it as he thought of the PMS possibilities the opposite sex had held. Konan, before she turned rogue, had been hard enough to deal with and she was fairly placid by nature, doing as instructed. To get some wild females in? Madara would rather attempt to cook Zetsu.

 **みじめさ**

"How about…. Dear fellow Kage?"

Itachi snorted, holding back the laughter. After writing the sentence on a white sheet of paper, Naruto tore it from the pad and scrunched it up, throwing it into the vomiting wastebasket at his feet.

"Just talk to him honestly, it's just a request. You don't have to follow it out fully… he wanted your help and now you're accepting it, requesting a few backup teams to be sent here."

Naruto chuckled dryly and shook his head. He knew Itachi knew the reason he couldn't write the letter but was glad he had a chance to voice his thoughts.

"I cannot be honest because of Oushi-san and Bee. I can't write honestly because I am Minato's son… the one man they hate more than anything regardless of the fact he's six feet under. I'm a Jinchuuriki too so what the hell do I do? I can't be honest because they probably share the attitudes that Jinchuuriki – I – am scum…"

Naruto trailed off, unaware that his voice had been getting louder and louder. A few stray tears had collected at the corners of his eyes and he hastily wiped them on the back of his sleeve.

"While in the Akatsuki, I was instructed to watch the Cloud village to see what they thought of Yugito and Bee, of their Jinchuuriki. They loved them, they loved their protectors and Yugito even lured Hidan and Kakuzu away from her village, her home, to stop them from hurting anyone else. I'm sure you know that but still, they loved their village and the village loved them."

Naruto looked up, questions dancing in his eyes, "What about Bee? He wanted to get away from it in the end."

Itachi nodded and continued,

"How couldn't do it alone. Plus his brother is the Raikage… he most likely felt pressured by everything and just wanted freedom. I'm sure you wanted to be free once, I know I did, many times."

Naruto nodded slowly and a thumb wiped away the tears that had escaped the sleeve. Naruto smile warmly as Itachi retracted his hand and sat back down.

"How about 'Dear Raikage-san'? It's simple and short.

Naruto blotted it onto the roungh paper and smiled.

"It works. I think we can move on from here."

Itachi shook his head slowly and looked out of the window. His attention was drawn to four shapes heading this way – four large, black shapes and he knew what they were.

"Naruto, your guard is here."

Naruto's gaze followed Itachi's and he smiled grimly, setting the pen on the desk and motioning for Itachi to let them in. As he opened the window, the four shapes flew neatly in the gap and unsheathed their full cloaks as they landed, even more fluently that Itachi had – a feat that Naruto had to congratulate them upon.

"Greetings Karasu, I trust that your day has been knowledgeable?"

Who Naruto had deemed the leader – the one with the gravelly voice – nodded and spoke,

"It has been, Naruto-heika. I am sure that Itachi-denka told you of our morning meeting… and the fact that your Shinobi were oblivious to us?"

Naruto nodded slowly and felt that the leader was about to speak again, when a lighter voice cut in,

"You do not trust us."

Naruto shook his head and the group appeared to relax.

"Good, Naruto-heika, to trust us would be a fool's job. The wind tells us of a change in plans, a change that occurred this morning. Maybe you felt it in your sleep… tell me, Naruto-heika, do you dream?"

The mask of the leader glinted as the eyes that formed the raven's face met Naruto's.

"O-of course. We all dream, do we not?"

The group chattered before a wave of an arm cut the three making the rabble off.

"Of course we do, they are subconscious illusions of the mind, plagues, fantasies, memories… visions. The Rokubi may be inside the Akatsuki's toy, the Dragon Sealing Statue, but she is far from dead and her power could have sparked down the line somehow. Do not disregard any dreams, Naruto, or you will find yourself wishing you had one day."

Naruto was shaken by the amount of accuracy these people – were they really people? – held and did not even ponder the loss of the suffix. Nothing mattered and his eyes returned to the letter that needed to be written.

"Do you need to sleep? I'll fins a room or something and –"

"No need, Naruto-heika, we are accustomed to resting as our bird forms. We do not need sleep for that is not what will win the war."

With the last riddling statement, the group took off in a flurry of feathers, their caws breaking the darkening air around them and setting Naruto on edge slightly. Itachi glanced between the murder and Naruto before closing the window softly.

"Dear Raikage-san, we have taken everything into consideration and Konoha as a whole believes that an alliance between us would be most favourable. You may have received a letter about this before but I believe it is high time we set aside our differences and worked for the future. As a Jinchuuriki and Hokage, I accept your alliance and send this with haste. Signed Namikaze Naruto, Jinchuuriki to the Kyuubi no Kitsune and Hokage of Konohagakure."

Itachi nodded in satisfaction and Naruto scribbled the notes down onto the rough paper, standing and planning to go to Tsunade.

"You coming along?" Itachi settled himself on Naruto's body and they left the room, greeting Shizune and turning into Tsunade's office.

"Hey Baa-chan, can you give this to someone to type up or whatever? I also need to know what training ground is free; I received the sage notes from Fukasaku and wanted to try them out."

Tsunade gave a wry grin and took the paper, ignoring the question until the had stapled a memo note to the top of the paper.

"Why would you want to train outside where everyone can see their Hokage's moves?"

Naruto frowned, "Where else am I supposed to train?"

Tsunade's grin spread,

"Why, do you think that myself and the Kages before me trained in a cupboard? Ah, wait till you see the Hokage's training grounds Naruto; you'll be knocked off of your feet."

Naruto supposed that it made sense; he just wasn't sure how he hadn't known of this before. Mental note to self; get everything out of Tsunade before starting the job to avoid looking like an idiot.

 **Threat**

 **a declaration of an intention or determination to inflict punishment, injury, etc., in retaliation for, or conditionally upon, some action or course; menace**

 **おどし**

Deep blue eyes locked with the steely grey of the Rinnegan and ignored the threat behind the orbs. There was always a hidden threat with Pein, he was one that hardly anyone would ever be able to read and Kisame, in a strange, sick way, respected him for that.

His eyelids shuddered as the oxygen level decreased further, the Rinnegan manipulating the elemental balance in the air and increasing the gravity around Kisame's body. He knew exactly what the man wanted and he'd be a damned man if he let Pein get what he wanted.

"Look Pein, I told you; I have no idea how Itachi managed to pass into Konoha undetected."

Pein gave him a sceptical look and Kisame shrugged in a nonchalant manner.

"Well, if I had ever seen him do it and kept that memory do you think I would withhold it from you? I'm no threat to the Akatsuki Pein; I work with you, not against. Itachi was against us and look where it got him."

A seat back to his old home, offering others the chance of saving themselves. Itachi always was the one for self sacrifice and yet it seems now he is on a path of self-salvation.

"You can keep staring me down Pein, it won't help my memory. You've been here what now? An hour?"

Pein increased his power and Kisame was suddenly sent to his knees, hating the fact that he appeared to be bowing down to the controller.

"Don't you have small animals to scare, children to terrorise or villages to generally destroy?"

The last remark earned Kisame a blow, a proper hit this time, and sent him sprawled on the ground. Kisame was toying with him, Pein knew that, and if the man thought he could buy more time for whatever he was hiding then he would find his game up shortly.

"Let me take a look inside your head then Kisame. I won't take long, let me just take the information and be done with it."

Kisame closed his eyes tightly as his body disobeyed his brain and stiffened, no doubt alerting Pein to the fact that he had hit upon a nail. When Pein had knocked upon the door with the threat and determination in his eyes an hour previously, Kisame had known that it wouldn't be a social visit.

They had started off pleasant enough; Pein notifying Kisame that they were to head for Konoha within the next couple of days and that the Uchiha runt would be bringing his tag-alongs for their back up team. Kisame had nodded his thanks and turned as if to leave, only to find an arm holding the door in place.

"If Itachi placed any wards against the knowledge in your mind, I will be able to set them free. We all know he was the most skilled Sharingan user, most skilled Doujutsu user aside from myself I'd even say, in what would most likely be the history of the Shinobi countries… after all, didn't he bargain with the very deities themselves? Or is that one a myth?"

Pein's voice cut through Kisame's voice and the tallest of the pair fought onto the distraction Pein offered,

"I'd like to say myth but he couldn't have got the whole of his powers from Madara. There was something special about that kid, shame he had his head and ideals screwed on backwards."

Pein nodded thoughtfully, glancing at the man on the floor with a dangerous look in his eye. To Kisame, it was almost as if he knew something, something that put him at a higher status to the ex-Mist Shinobi.

"It will only take a few moments Kisame and then we can be on. We have so much to gain from this… excursion."

Kisame ignored the way the 'leader' referred to the investigation of his mind as a simple trip out and shook his head, clutching at straws for his excuses.

"I have secrets of the Mist in there; I cannot simply allow you to walk through my mind. You of all people should understand that; the mind is a sacred place that should be taken care of and intruded only by yourself. "

Taking in a quick glance of the room, Pein settled for sitting on the wooden chair that was – aside from the bed and a wardrobe – the only furnishings in the room. Kisame still lay on the floor, the air pressure increasing around him and the forces increasing every few minutes. If Kisame refused, he would die a very slow and painful death, one that would result in him calling out the answer in desperation.

But that was to be a last resort; in the upcoming battle, Kisame would be able to take down a lot of opposition and make the transition for the kidnap easier. Pein loved a good blood bath but the true calamity was to come at the end of the extraction, upon hunting the escapee Bijuu and using the power on the world.

For now, things would be a heck lot easier if the big boys – in this case Kisame and Pein – were left to do the job alone; how it used to be.

"Ah, well it is a good thing I can focus my Rinnegan on a specific area then. I'll target your memories of Itachi, filter through them until I find the ones relating to the moments you were about to enter Konoha. I can then watch them and find the appropriate actions to get in undetected. It will take only a few seconds to complete all of this due to the level of my Rinnegan."

It was no surprise that Pein was proud of his bloodline; after all it was the one thing that defined him throughout his life; from lowly Nagato to the God Pein.

In total, there were six rings. No one – not even Pein – could be sure what exactly each of these rings contained yet the user of the Rinnegan liked to think of them as more than one layer to a ring; overlapping rings that made up a larger ring.

Although he could not say which one would be which, Pein knew he had complete control over each element if he so chose; earth, wind, fire, lightning, water and the hidden element; spirit, human will, the power to manipulate the will of people, animals and objects, something that was often labelled with 'Psychic' abilities.

Next were the specialisations of each ring. Pein had not been able to fully master this stage – the stage where one was able to utilise the usage of all of the bodies… the ability to bring all six into one. As it was, Pein had to deal with splitting the Rinnegan's powers between the six bodies he had fitted with specialised chakra receptors so that they would correspond to his power and reject their natural chakra.

The current body he favoured – Yahiko's old attire – was the Deva path. He was the God, the one who was granted power over the rain, sealing and the ability to shape shift. He was the reason the Akatsuki could seal the Bijuu in one place and store them, the Dragon Sealing Statue would only respond to one with the Rinnegan. The layers that formed one of the rings controlled this path as they did with the other five.

The huge, bulky body that made up the Preta path, the Hungry Ghost Realm, controlled the absorption of Jutsu, allowing Pein to block any Jutsu if need be. Any attack that couldn't be countered had found its match in this aspect of the Rinnegan.

One who would be in the reconnaissance team along with God would be the Human path, the tracker and mind-absorber of the team. It would be using Human's powers that Pein would search through Kisame's mind, after all, the other bodies were merely an extension of his and all of their powers led back to him… he just hadn't been able to control them all at the same time and store the power in his body.

The Asura path would be on the divisionary team; the Demon Realm held enough brute force that it would be able to take a lot out on Konoha on a final swing. His attacks were lethal and Pein was satisfied knowing that he could trust that aspect of himself. It hadn't been too hard to replace this one after Jiraiya had killed the one who shared his skills before, but it had been annoying.

The Hell Realm, Naraka path, would be the final third to the reconnaissance team. The flamed the technique 'King of Hell' produced always reminded Pein of Amaterasu and it was hard, now, to remember if his flames had been there first or Itachi's. As much as Pein wanted to claim them as his own, a sinking feeling that the one named after the deity had come first remained.

Finally, to replace the other one Jiraiya had destroyed; the Animal Path had taken place of summoning. Not only were animals – as the name suggested – under the summoning capabilities, but this one could summon the other bodies. Oddly enough Pein had used a female body this time, much to the slight amusement yet sheer confusion to a few of the others.

This led back to the aspect that Pein was supposed to; somehow, link all of these powers together back into the God body. Could he really be called a God when he had such a large and obvious fault right in front of him?

Of course he could, because together the six bodies made Pein.

Pein watched as Kisame darted eye contact and shuffled his weight back a little, almost as if he was distancing himself sub-consciously.

"Pein, look, there's nothing wrong with forcing information out of someone if they are purposefully trying to hide it but it's clear I do not know how Itachi got in."

Pein flicked his eyes to the side slightly before returning them back to Kisame's. There was something differed in them, a hidden defiance that Pein knew would be Hoshigaki's downfall.

"What if I believe you to be hiding things? You said so yourself, you don't mind if someone has a reason and I have an extremely valid one. What would Madara do if he was told by me that you were untrustworthy?"

Kisame widened his eyes as he took in Pein's words.

"You're threatening me? So when you can't think of anything else, you use a cheap threatening tactic? Some God you are-"

Kisame's words were cut off as a metal-heeled Shinobi sandal cut into his side. While the others were content with the plain purple fabric stirrup-like additions to the sandals, Pein had insisted on having the material lined with metal. It wasn't too thick, the bottom being thicker anyway, but when kicked with the force of an expert Shinobi, it was no bed of roses.

"Urgh," Kisame groaned and rolled over to the side, biting back the bile that had risen in alert to the back of his throat. If there was one thing he would not do, it would be to throw up at Pein's feet. Kisame had never grovelled at the Mizukage's feet, or any other members of the Swordsmen nor Akatsuki, and he wasn't going to become Pein's dog now.

"I really don't think you have much of a choice anymore Kisame, your denial in the subjects concerns me and it could jeopardise the future of the Akatsuki… for the dawn of a new age, I'm going to look in your head."

Before Kisame could move out of the way, two cool hands were placed on either side of his face, the God kneeling down to his level for once. A pinprick on each side alerted him to the beginning of Pein's onslaught and then, with the full force of anger and sadistic tendencies merged in, the pain slammed into his head and Kisame bellowed out in agony.

 **おどし**

Naruto had to admit that the training grounds were impressive; they were vast – no doubt due to some sort of space-alternating Jutsu – and perfectly equipped for any range of Shinobi.

As he closed the scroll, sweat beading down his forehead and onto his neck, he looked to Itachi and smiled. The pair had been training together and apart for the whole of the day and both were nearing exhaustion. Naruto had finally got a hold on the sage techniques and memorised the basic movements of the scroll that came with it. It would be a while before his movements were fluid and he had yet to combine the sword back into his training but it was a start.

Itachi had been providing the attacks for Naruto to counter. In all the time they had been 'enemies', Naruto had never truly seen much of what made Uchiha Itachi such a feared and respected Shinobi. After all, there was his reputation but a reputation had to come from somewhere… and Naruto was impressed at the skill behind the title.

He had full experience that Itachi was one of the highest skilled Shinobi he had ever met. Naruto was even willing to bet that Itachi could beat him in a fight if the powers of the Kyuubi weren't in store for him. With the additional powers of a Bijuu, one could call upon that chakra either in times of dire need or simply just when it is required. As the Kyuubi possessed such a large amount of chakra, Naruto not being short of chakra himself, the combination was a deadly one and if Naruto's own stamina couldn't out do his opponent then there were the ultimate reserves residing with the Kyuubi.

"I wanted to speak to Bee and Oushi-san before we head for bed tonight. I want to tell them a few things and I'm sure they have something to report."

Itachi nodded, morphing into the raven form as Naruto pushed the door open. It would be horrible sitting in the office in sweaty clothes but it was easier to get everything done and then head home rather than waste time. It would be a short conversation and then Naruto would send the two of them off home.

For some reason, Naruto had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as if something was happening – or about to happen – and this something was something that would define him for the rest of his life, be a marker on him forever. Something that would give him a title, an addition to his name and Naruto was unsure whether it was a good or a bad something.

They entered Naruto's office and the Hokage was surprised to see Tsunade staring out of the window. She turned round at their entry and smiled grimly.

"Shizune wanted to be the one to inform you but I thought it would be best if she went to inform the team who are studying the brain of the man Jiraiya sent back for us." Naruto stiffened and Itachi, now back to his human form, placed a hand on his upper arm, settling the blond.

"She detected that the large clumps of black metal that appear as piercings are chakra receptors. It makes sense; Pein has more than one body and if he wants to use all of the bodies perfectly, he has to make sure they respond to the same chakra."

Naruto tilted an eyebrow, not quite understanding.

"It's like this… a puppeteer had to use chakra strings made of their own chakra to control a body right?" Naruto nodded. "Well, Pein has approximately six bodies, or did have at least, and he has to be able to control them all. Because of the vast amount of distances he may be travelling, chakra strings will be no good and so he will need to transmit chakra into each body separately."

Naruto nodded thoughtfully before speaking, "And he cannot use the original body's chakra because it would not correspond… am I correct?" This time the woman nodded and made for the door, passing by the couple.

"Don't work too hard tonight; you both look as if you'll drop dead any minute."

She left with the soft closing of a door and it didn't take long for Naruto to occupy his chair, eyes closed and drawing upon the connection that held him to Killer Bee. With a grin to Itachi, Naruto summoned the power to identify his 'brother' and spoke hesitantly;

Oushi-san, Bee?

"Naruto!"

Naruto opened his eyes to see himself back in the space where he first met the pair. As before, Bee was resting on the Ox's nose bridge and the Kyuubi was seated beside him.

"Do you have time to talk? I just wanted to see how you've been and if you have any information."

Brown eyes looked into blue, even from this distance, and Bee chuckled light heartedly.

"You know, it's a funny world where two Jinchuuriki can be the rulers of the village. You and… Gaara was it? The Kazekage… you've done well." Naruto remained silent, wondering where this would be going.

"I do love my brother, even with all his faults, but there is a reason I can't go back to the Lightning now. He may be mourning my supposed death and he will most likely be angry that I didn't return home but I cannot go back. Every day I see the weight of who I am, the weight of being a Jinchuuriki and can't help but wonder; what if things had been different.

"I want you to understand, Naruto, that the Lightning fell into a lapse after the war between our nations. I do not blame Konoha in the slightest but we pulled out of it when I was younger. My brother had just become the Raikage and I helped him set up the economic recovery plan… I can't help but think every morning; what if I had been Raikage. I could have been too, if I was not a Jinchuuriki."

Killer Bee paused and sighed heavily. Naruto knew there was more to his speech and sat obediently, his hand gently running through the fur on the Kyuubi's cheek as he listened.

"I do not care about being a Jinchuuriki, in fact I embrace it. It is the fact that my life, your life, could have been so different and that we are treated differently to other people just because of an addition to ourselves. The Cloud isn't as harsh as isolation but we are seen as guardians and sometimes, you just want to be the one who is being guarded."

Naruto's eyes softened in empathy yet he did not say anything; it was not his place to intrude on the council here and he would not disturb Bee's thoughts.

"I replied to the Raikage. He is still lead to believe you are dead, when the official news comes in I'll send my consolations as any Kage would in my… our position."

Bee's head lifted up a little and the smile returned to his face,

"Thank you Naruto."

And the blond could see that he really meant it, which meant a lot more to him than one would expect. Naruto began to withdraw but a sudden call made him fortify the bond rather than break it;

"Wait Naruto! Oushi has been listening to the earth recently and he says that there is great unease in both Amegakure and Konohagakure. It is our belief that the Akatsuki will be moving sooner rather than later and also… also that something has shaken either you or the whole of Konoha. As it is only the Hachibi and I who have noticed this I would say that it is to do with you."

Warm, brown eyes looked into Naruto's and the sixteen year old finally felt young. He had spent so long being expected to be older than he was – not that he'd trade this for the world – but sometimes it would be nice to feel his age. The only other time he had felt so young was when he was lip-locked with Itachi. On the rare occasions they had time for that, that is.

"I don't know, Bee. I had a dream… or a vision." Naruto inhaled deeply, shoving the thoughts aside. "I'm sorry, but what do you know of prophecies?"

Killer Bee looked startled at the question and rubbed his head sheepishly,

"Nothing I'm afraid and even if I did I probably would forget everything and – oh." Bee blinked before nodding once and glancing to Naruto.

"I have to shoot off… there are some people out there I'm supposed to be meeting with… I guess we got a little comfy in here eh?" Both of the Bijuu snorted comfortably and Naruto shared Bee's grin.

"Promise me one thing?"

Bee turned with a questioning look as Naruto and the council halls began to fade,

"Promise me you won't help in our war."

Bee looked startled for a moment but did not have time to answer and the last image of Naruto was of the smiling face, shining blue eyes and bright complexion. Yet Killer Bee knew; he saw the fear flicker there for a moment and it pained him to see it there.

"I cannot make promises I won't keep Naruto… but if it so pleases you then I'll agree."

 **おどし**

Kisame's eyes rolled into the back of his head as Pein gained control of his mind. In a weak attempt to shield the Rinnegan user from the truth, Kisame thought about the dead Itachi, the Itachi before he was saved.

It didn't work, and Pein could tell that he was hiding something.

Pein filtered through pointless memories, memories of the pair drinking together or talking about the weather, commenting on their plans and then, finally, the pair on the borders of the fire country's Hidden Village.

Kisame shifted uncomfortably as Itachi ordered him to remain still. It still felt odd to be ordered around by someone who was younger than himself. It was a feeling that he would be likely to grow used to in the future – if they had a future as partners – but it was odd now and Kisame didn't like it.

Itachi's hands blurred together for a moment before glowing, and he turned to Kisame with eyes spinning.

"I'm sorry to have to do this now Kisame but I can't give away this secret of the Fire Nation. If you got it then who else would be able to pick it straight out of your head?"

Ah, so Itachi was clever. He had anticipated that, sometime in the future, someone may have wanted to find this information out, get inside of Kisame's head to find the answers.

Very clever, but there had to be a loophole somewhere. Even a young Itachi made mistakes.

Kisame snorted and shrugged his shoulders. As Itachi stepped forwards, the man realised that body contact would be unavoidable and closed his eyes. He had been trained for so many years to block all contact out that his instincts had taken on the ideals too.

"There."

Kisame looked up; that was it? In a moment, Itachi had crossed over the border and into the fire country, looking at Kisame pointedly.

Pein rolled his eyes as the memory wittered on onto pointless detail, discussions about the geography of the area and even Kisame asking about how they had got into the area. Itachi dodged the question each time and Pein flicked through other memories, each of them coming up with the same result.

Almost annoyed, Pein pressed deeper into the connection he was playing upon and felt slight resistance.

So Kisame was hiding something eh?

Applying a little pressure to this resistance and digging his fingers into Kisame's temples, he felt it loosen a bit, snippets of information and memories flowing out;

Itachi cloaked in moonlight,

The ravens circling above Kisame as Pein walked away,

Pein walking out of sight and Kisame settling down outside of Konoha

Kisame rubbing the sore mark on his arm from when Pein had stabbed him out of annoyance –

All of these were from the time they had observed Konoha. But what did this have to do with Itachi? Pressing a little deeper, Pein felt full resistance. He knew then that this wouldn't be easy and so reached out to his body, kicking Kisame in the side and holding onto his head. The resistance weakened slightly and Pein took it upon himself at this time to put everything into one push.

It succeeded and the resistance fell, shrouding Pein in the image of a black raven changing into a man.

One thought ran across Pein's mind as Uchiha Itachi's mouth spoke the words 'Can you understand that';

Uchiha Itachi was immortal, and an immortal being threatened the position Pein held.

In other words, Itachi was a God.

 **Hesitant**

 **hesitating; undecided, doubtful, or disinclined.**

 **ためらった**

Pein pulled his mind from the intrusion and his eyes locked onto Kisame's body, which had curled up slightly with the man's hands clutching at his head. Pein sneered at the man and drove a harsh kick into his side,

"And you claimed you were on our side." Another kick was delivered to Kisame's body, this time it connected with the man's shoulder and left a sickening crunch as the bone was dislocated. "What good would hiding that traitor's existence do for us?"

Kisame held his breath as one more kick was delivered and watched as Pein stalked off, obviously to control whatever anger he had just allowed to seep out. Kisame knew that Pein had certain issues with controlling his anger yet didn't know how to be around the man without provoking him. In the end, it had been his partner who had dealt with that and she was dead so there was really little that could be done.

So Kisame chose to do what any member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist would do and stood, clicking the dislocated limb back into its socket painfully. Sure it hurt, but that didn't matter when the opposite possibility was facing the angry Pein with an arm out of action.

Risking a quick glance to the side, Kisame noted Samehada's presence just behind the door, next to the doorway and within reach if he was quick. Of course he would be able to operate without the sword but it enhanced his abilities, and he needed every last thing he could get in this battle.

Kisame wasn't stupid to think he could win against Pein; the man was the controller of the Rinnegan and Kisame was merely one of Seven Swordsmen. Maybe the full Seven could have taken a couple of Pein's bodies on but Kisame had only known one man to kill any of Pein's paths and that had been Jiraiya.

Looking over to where Pein was standing – or this body at least – he felt the thrill and anticipation of a battle well up around him. This was crushed when Pein spoke and, for the first time in years, a pang of fear shuddered through Kisame's body;

"You think you'll be getting out of this room alive?"

Kisame flexed his fingers against the scaled hilt of his sword and refused to answer. It was obvious that Pein wasn't going to let him go and that this would be a fight he had been both craving and dreading.

"I'll make a deal with you; give me an hour and we'll take this outside. It'll give you time to prepare and I need to explain to Madara why you won't be joining me on this trip." The gaze of the Rinnegan fell onto Kisame's eyes and he suppressed a shudder.

"I'm going to have another one of my bodies watch you, so if you try anything like getting out of here, you'll be stopped and terminated without a second thought. At least if you fight me fairly then you stand a chance of going down with honour."

Kisame made a half strangled sound at the back of his throat and then Pein was gone. His eyes fell upon the wardrobe and he pulled out a hanger. There was no way he'd be wearing the Akatsuki's colours if Pein assumed his allegiance to be towards Konoha. He had never truly been able to get along with the cloak anyway and he needed some separation from Pein.

Pein hid the grin on his face as he watched one of the other paths merge into the wall. That one would follow Kisame while he dealt with Madara.

He had always been known to play a dangerous game but this would be a masterpiece if pulled of correctly. Madara had no qualms with Pein's loyalty and if he were to twist things a little, he could hope to pull the fleece over Madara's eyes, so to speak, and have the upper hand at the end.

After all, the only thing Madara had been admittedly afraid of was Itachi. He hated the fact that Itachi had rejected him when he was younger and hated the love he showed towards his brother. Pein knew that Madara's brother had died after giving his eyes up, and the peace treaty that those eyes were to guard from came about too soon. Madara's brother had sacrificed his life for so much and the Uchiha hated that Itachi had played the part of caring brother, even to his death.

And it didn't matter that Sasuke didn't know Itachi had held this position, after all Madara had been helping to pull the strings and had seen how devoted his junior was to Sasuke. It must have hurt, knowing that your brother was dead when all you had really wanted to do was to protect your family.

In a way, Itachi's situation was the opposite; he had chosen his brother over family while Madara had chosen family over his brother. The supposedly dead Uchiha was a representation of who Madara had always wanted to be and Pein's personal plans would be ruined if he divulged the information.

Besides, it wasn't as if he had a clean slate to work with; he was an open murderer, thief, arsonist and a multitude of other crimes… a handful of lies to an even bigger deceiver would hardly place his conscience into 'guilt ridden'.

Knocking upon the dark brown door and walking in – for waiting would show that he was trained to obey Madara's whims and he was anything but whipped – the Rinnegan met Sharingan.

"I thought you were off to Konoha… was Kisame helpful in anyway?"

Madara placed down the little black book he was reading and sat on the table he had been standing by. Pein closed the door and took a step further into the room,

"Not particularly… I was forced to use methods I would not have if cooperation was given."

Madara nodded, both in understanding and acceptance for the deed. As if he needed to consult Madara before he made a move. Pein refused the urge to clench his fist and, instead, continued speaking;

"I did not find what I was originally searching for but I found something serious that needs to be addressed. Of course, if I took care of it myself then you most likely would criticise me for it later… the issue being Kisame's loyalty."

For a full second, Madara looked surprised. It was a foreign expression to Pein; his whole body language was frozen and he hardly moved. His solitary eye was fixated on the ground and swung up suddenly to meet Pein's.

"That is unthinkable; Kisame was fully loyal to the Mizukage – I never had reason to doubt him – and now that he knows I was his Kage he shows that he has been twice as loyal. I do not understand where these allegations lie, Pein."

Pein inclined his head, Madara falling straight into his plan.

"Maybe he feels cheated… after all he was made to think that you were a bumbling idiot, then the Mizukage and now his leader. It is a lot of change and for someone as rooted as Kisame… well…" He cleared his throat, "It's not only that; his thoughts wandered when I was inside his head and it appears that he wants to aide Konoha by getting to the Hokage first and informing him of the invasion."

With a slight pause, Pein assessed Madara's state; he was listening closely. Good.

"It appears that Kisame would trick me into thinking he would scout ahead and then alert Naruto. He believed that the Hokage would trust him because he knows of Itachi's previous loyalties to Konoha… and that Kisame was Itachi's partner. It would have been a long shot but, for a desperate man, it seems like quite a good plan. With one exception; he couldn't handle the pressure and wouldn't have factored in all constituents. I would have sent a member of Hebi… Falcon with them."

Madara took both of his hands and clasped them together, resting his chin upon them. For a full minute he stared at the floor, before sighing heavily.

"Well I do not have any doubts that you are correct Pein… I'm just surprised it was Kisame who was the one to turn his back on us. Especially after what happened with Konan and all. It's a shame; he was a good fighter, but I believe you will be able to take Konoha with the Rinnegan and Falcon."

Madara walked over to the door, opening it for Pein. Just as the orange haired man was about to walk out the door, a finger to the chest stopped him,

"I expect you to deal with Kisame discreetly and do not tell Sasuke the real reason he isn't with you. The kid seems to be under a slight illusion that we are happy people and don't kill others in our group… he never found out about Konan."

Pein nodded and Madara pulled his hand away. A fierce smile lit up Pein's face as he turned away from Madara and walked down the hallway, the echoes of Madara's last words to him;

"Don't come back empty handed."

 **ためらった**

Naruto could feel the electricity literally ripple through the air as he walked through the darkened streets, Itachi by his side, and to their house. There would be something happening when they got home that night but Naruto didn't know if it would be a revelation of something bad or good.

The charge appeared to increase with each step and the anticipation clawing at Naruto's gut grew until he felt as though he was going to be sick.

Human emotion was a funny thing; one simple emotion could lead one to feel such a range of other emotions; happiness to lead to a feeling of more energy and depression could lead to suicidal thoughts. Anxiety was a huge one that Shinobi had to train out of themselves, each individual failing at some point in their life.

Slipping the front door key into the lock, Naruto felt Itachi's presence heavily behind him. The anxiety eased a little as a small thought crept into his head and he indulged in inhaling Itachi's individual scent. It was slightly exotic and could only be explained as wild. Which made sense, after all Itachi spent about half of his time contained to a bird form and if that wasn't wild then the Hokage had no idea what was.

As his hand moved to flick the main light on, Naruto was pushed against the wall, his back clicking it off again. He was about to call out to Itachi, in case the elder had stumbled, when an eager mouth connected to his own.

Surprised, Naruto swallowed and ran his tongue over his bottom lip, ending up with running the appendage over Itachi's instead. Naruto had expected the Uchiha to pull away at that but, if anything, it simply goaded him on. With his back pressed against the door frame and Itachi sandwiching him in, Naruto had no other option but to wrap his arms around his partner and lose himself in the kiss.

There were worse places to be, after all.

They broke apart to suck in a lungful of air before meeting eyes; obsidian asking the exhilarating question that Naruto knew only had one answer. In true fashion of the moment, Naruto sealed his answer – and night – by lacing his fingertips into Itachi's hair, pulling the band that held the strands together out gently, and conveying his emotions into a searing kiss.

To say that it was the best kiss that Naruto had ever had would be an understatement. It started off tentatively, the way one might approach a loved one that hasn't been seen for a few days. Itachi tiled his head slightly, allowing Naruto better access to deepen their connection and it wasn't long until the elder reassigned their positions; Itachi taking control of their kiss and Naruto submitting to the pleasures.

When they finally broke apart for air, Naruto closed his eyes for a second, retaining the image of an imperfect Itachi – his Itachi. His dark hair fell to frame his face, covering the length of his shoulders and a few strands brushing against Naruto's cheek. He was surprised to see how soft Itachi's features became with his hair loose and he smiled tenderly, placing a hand on Itachi's cheek before kissing the spots where his fingers had rested.

No longer resisting the temptations, Itachi tucked an arm under Naruto's legs and hoisted him upwards, waiting for Naruto to hook his arms around his neck. Instead of grinning at him like Itachi had expected, Naruto grinned quickly before diving down for another kiss, almost distracting Itachi from his goal of carrying the blond around.

After a short delay that was filled with three long kisses, Itachi was pushed onto the bed by Naruto. Without wasting anytime, Naruto sat in between the Uchiha's open legs and broke the third 'interval' kiss they had shared.

Looping one arm around Naruto's back, Itachi successfully flipped them over so that he was on top, positioning their bodies so that friction built between them. He could tell that Naruto was suppressing a groan and so lazily shifted the leg that was currently positioned over Naruto's groin.

The groan loosened from the blonde's throat and Itachi smirked. Opening one blue eye, Naruto glared at the expression on Itachi's face and pushed his hips forward so that he reciprocated the favour.

"You'll be the death of me Hokage-sama."

A thrill of pleasure jolted through Naruto as he heard Itachi's deep voice announce the suffix, just as the button to his trousers was loosened. There was one thing that he had learnt – only now realising that the Uchiha had managed at some point to discard them both of their tops – and it was that Uchiha Itachi was extremely talented in the bedroom… and they hadn't even got to the sex yet.

Teasingly slowly the trousers were taken off of Naruto's legs, revealing the bright orange and 'Classic Naruto' boxers he had carelessly shoved on that morning. Itachi's smirk widened at the sight of them and Naruto couldn't hold back his retort;

"Well if I knew this would be happening after getting changed, I would have dressed up for you!"

A deep chuckle sounded from down by Naruto's stomach as Itachi's throat pressed against his inner thigh. Naruto looked at him in slight confusion before attempting to conceal a moan that rose out of nowhere as Itachi's tongue swept across the expanse of his stomach. The skin was still, surprisingly, heated from their training earlier and the combination of the feel and movement Itachi was providing gave off a tingly feeling that ended up pooling at his genitals.

Naruto lay on his back, giving the occasional mewl or appreciative sigh as Itachi kissed, nipped and licked across his abdomen, chest and neck. The sensations were so pleasant and so alive that Naruto suddenly realised that he was the only one receiving them. After all, this was something the two of them together were to go through so Itachi was entitled to the same – if not more – treatment.

With a firm hand, Naruto pulled Itachi up into a kiss so that they were both more or less kneeling. Itachi's eyes flickered with amusement as Naruto's hands made their pathway down his chest, exploring every inch of skin, and onto the button that kept his trousers in place.

It took only a few moments to rid Itachi of both his trousers and boxers, as well as Naruto shedding his own. For a few seconds – after removing the garish pants – Naruto stood freely in front of Itachi. It was his way of showing the Uchiha who he was, all of him, without the pretences of everyday or the stress. For this night they would simply be Naruto and Itachi.

As Itachi made to kiss Naruto, the blond slipped from his grasp and pushed the elder down. In slight confusion, Itachi grunted yet it morphed into a surprised moan as the kiss was delivered to his member.

With a grin, Naruto looked back up into the heated eyes of Itachi before experimentally running a tongue on the underside of Itachi's errection. Deciding that he rather liked the slight twitch of Itachi's leg and the barely suppressed groan, Naruto made a new goal; get Itachi to unleash a full moan.

It didn't take too long either; from running his tongue along the length, Naruto took it a step further and engulfed the whole cock into his mouth. Glancing up at Itachi to see what movements were preferable, Naruto soon developed a rhythm consisting of kisses, feathery touches and full engulfment.

After the fifth full groan that passed Itachi's lips, Naruto was sure that the Uchiha was close. It came as a surprise when Itachi forcefully pulled him upwards, into a kiss and then mumbled something against him;

"Don't think I'm going to be coming alone Naruto."

Those words sent a thrill throughout his body and Naruto was thankful that he had long ago rid himself of the confinements of his boxers.

Manoeuvring themselves slightly, Itachi placed his body over Naruto's, each point where their skin touched emitting into thousands of spiralling tingles and electric pulses. It was an erotic yet beautiful feeling that Naruto allowed himself a moment to wallow purely in.

"Naruto, may I?"

Hardly registering the motion, Naruto reached into the little drawer by their bed and pulled out a small bottle.

"Iruka thought I should be well educated in all areas after Shizune spilled the beans about us sharing a bed so he took it upon himself to get me a gift it I should ever feel the need."

Emitting a deep chuckle, Itachi took the bottle from Naruto's hand and gave him a soft kiss.

"Are you sure?"

Naruto had never been surer in his life.

 **ためらった**

"It was really a pity that he allowed me to do this… after all I am with Madara when he says you were a key player. We could have made a good pair too Kisame but you had to let that damn Uchiha get in the way didn't you?" Kisame stumbled as Pein nodded; two of the six paths around him stepping forward to fulfil the command and each delivered a punch to the abdomen.

Coughing up blood and ignoring the circle of Rinnegan users, Kisame stood and looked automatically for Samehada. He had foolishly forgotten about the possibility that Pein would double cross their little arrangement and bring in the other paths, rendering Kisame without a single chance.

There was only one thing he, as a Shinobi, could do, and that was to go down fighting. If it were possible, he could at least deliver an injury to Pein that would help Konoha against him. Even if they were battling with the Devil himself.

"Itachi didn't get in the way and you could never be half the partner he was."

After all, if there was one thing that Hoshigaki Kisame was it was loyal to those who deserved it.

"Your point being?" Pein drawled and flicked a hand out, allowing the largest of the paths to take Kisame's arms behind his back. For the first time since this 'fight' had begun and since Kisame had become too exhausted to dodge, something akin to fear flickered in his eyes.

"You see, Kisame, I was given orders to deal with you discreetly and then lie to Sasuke. Madara doesn't want that Uchiha to be part of any of your games so there really is no way you can get through to your beloved partner." He paused for air and gestured for the smallest path to take a stand in front of the beaten man.

"You know what? I think you may have given us they key for taking hold of Konoha. Dear old Naruto-kun would be certainly surprised to find out that we know an ex Missing Nin of the Leaf is roaming about… would he feel ashamed? Would he step down to hide the fact that he could not detect him? Or…" Pein paused for a moment as the remainder of the paths lined up behind the smallest one.

"Or is it that Naruto knows he is there? That would be amusing… the Hokage harbouring a dead man? Not to mention a criminal…"

Kisame couldn't control himself anymore, even if he knew it would cause more pain than before;

"Stop! Just stop it! Itachi didn't reveal anything to me; he just sprouted nonsense about salvation and that I should take his offer. I didn't but now I wish I bloody well had."

"Thank you Kisame."

Kisame's face dropped in horror as the God path began to walk off.

"What? What do you mean…? Pein, PEIN!" By the end of his sentence, he was shouting desperately and Pein looked back, meeting with his eyes.

"You confirmed what I suspected Kisame. How delightful it will be to inform Itachi of whom exactly told me this information… not that you'll be around to find out ad you'll be dead. Think of this as your redemption for your betrayal Kisame; no one ever said Hell was sweet."

Kisame's roar of anger echoed around them yet Pein had no fears of anyone hearing them. The Rinnegan had created a soundproof barrier that would not only satisfy the condition of Sasuke not finding out but also satisfy Pein's irritations; it was, after all, annoying to hear someone in pain and not helping with the cause.

There was only one thing to do before he set off for Konoha and that was to pick up the brat and his team. As much as he wanted to go see Madara, just to satisfy the need to rub something in his face without the man knowing the secret, he knew that the Uchiha would be angry, especially as he was expecting him with Naruto next time.

"Uchiha," he called out as he opened the plain door. As expected, the kid was there, sitting on the bed. He looked up with red eyes and for a horrible moment, Pein felt as though he was looking at Itachi or at least the memory where he had met Itachi for the first time.

The first time he had seen him, Itachi was seated in his room, clothing plastered to his body and hair clamped to his face. It was raining outside; that much was true as Pein always had it rain in Amegakure, but the teen had looked so lost that even Pein did not know how to react. Instead, he had backed away from the room with a curt nod and left the bedraggled male to it.

He hadn't seen Itachi for the rest of that week.

"You're dry," he stated and Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion. Pein realised that he had almost become lost in his memories again and looked to the side, willing himself to change the subject. Memories were a painful thing for him and he definitely did not want to look into them with Sasuke here.

"Where's the other two? We're leaving now."

Without waiting for a reply, Pein turned. He had hesitated at this door once before, the night Itachi had been half drowned in his sorrows, and he sure as hell wasn't going to waste his hesitations on this kid.

This kid wasn't a God, this kid wasn't immortal. He was merely the brother to a God, and we all know that mortal siblings had no place in true legends.

Slipping out of the warm sheets was proved harder than he would have imagined. He had to move quietly and in small movements lest he wake the other occupant up. Looking over at the blond hair he smiled with fond memories, slightly daunted at the task which he faced.

Without bothering with clothes, Itachi took a thick scroll from one of the drawers and rummaged around to find the quill that had been given to him the day before. The one who had given it to him – the eldest in Karasu – had told him that he could tilt the balances in the world, that it was his influence that could either create masses of pain or happiness.

He would not be the one left in the centre to tilt the scale ever again. He had been there once before and it had led him planning his death at the age of fifteen. Itachi had missed so much of his life and he could never allow his actions to influence another in the way they had Sasuke's.

The only way to salvage the situation was with this quill, Naruto's ink and a spare scroll.

"To Naruto…"

Once he had finished, Itachi capped the ink bottle and rolled the scroll off, flourishing Naruto's name on the front and placing the feathered quill next to it on the side. As the run rose, rink light splashing onto what should have been a relaxing morning, Itachi buckled the weapons to his clothing and slipped out of the room, pulling up his hood as soon as he stepped out of the door.

Itachi ignored his feet as they called for him to hesitate; he had made his choice and now he had to live with the consequences.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the chattering ravens, unsure whether they were Team Karasu or their true counterparts, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that their calls were anything but supportive.

 **Reality**

 **resemblance to what is real**

 **現実**

The rain pattering against the windowpane was the first signal to Naruto's sleepy head, the cold bed sheets were the second. They lay in a creamy pool around his legs, fabric twisted and wrinkled from where Naruto had been sleeping.

Clouded blue eyes opened slowly to stare at the empty space in the bed he had shared with Itachi not so long ago. The rain beat a steady rhythm, signalling Naruto to the calming and aching weather, ringing one sentence home repeatedly; Itachi was gone.

He knew it without even seeing the letter on the desk, the scripted characters that spelt out Naruto's name. There was emptiness not only in the bed that had been theirs, but the emotions – and dare he say heart? – that Naruto had dared open and share with Itachi.

There had been small signals for a long time – Itachi had been slightly offset whenever Akatsuki was mentioned, even more so when Naruto returned from Fukasaku. Itachi had tried to reassure him it was simply because of meeting Kisame under those circumstances but Naruto did not think that was the case.

There was also the long 'talk' that Itachi mentioned he had had with Team Karasu. Naruto had not seen the team since then and couldn't help but wonder what exactly they had been talking about. Could it be possible that Itachi had seem them as a threat to whatever plans he perceived and killed them?

Impossible, Naruto chastised himself; Itachi's cold front was an act, nothing more. Of course he's ruthless but he wouldn't do that if it held a double swing. If he had destroyed Karasu then that would have put Konoha's Hokage in an unfavourable position, and therefore Konoha. Itachi loved Konoha, loved this village almost as much as he loved –

"Sasuke."

The word only had to be muttered for Naruto to realise how foolish he had been. He had wanted to believe in Itachi so much that he had forgotten the Uchiha's main pendant for everything he had done. It had all been for Sasuke, Itachi had chosen Sasuke over Konoha before and it appeared that history had a strange way of repeating itself.

Sasuke was with the Akatsuki and Naruto couldn't shake off the belief that Itachi had gone back to them, back to his brother and Madara. After all, the three of them were the only Uchihas remaining in the world and blood was thicker than water. Even if they hated each other, family should be there.

Naruto only wished he had stopped himself from feeling like he should be the family. He was just a Jinchuuriki, just a Hokage and just another plain attachment to Itachi. Naruto had allowed Itachi to grow into something more than a simple bond, as he managed with most people, even knowing in the back of his mind that Itachi wouldn't stay.

Fukasaku had warned him and had he listened?

No, he had ignored the Sage and turned his back on the supposedly insulting comment.

But what was so insulting about the truth? Was it because it hurt? Of course the truth damned well hurt, and the saying 'no pain, no gain' wasn't just there for decoration.

So what could Naruto obtain 'gain' wise?

The Hokage didn't know and moved out of the bed, filing his emotions away.

Unlike in stories and tales, there was no absence in his heart, no gut wrenching pain or saline trickling down his cheeks. He was Namikaze Naruto and the one who left was Uchiha Itachi. On some subconscious level they had both known that it wouldn't be forever, that this was simply a repayment for Naruto's salvation.

Looking at the note, Naruto's eyes grew darker and he remembered the dream. Was everything coming back to that? Was it really a foretelling? If it was, could this then shape the world into the dream?

With a heavy sigh, Naruto brought a palm up to his face, running it firmly over the skin. Loosening the muscles in his shoulders by rolling them and stretching to click his back, Naruto was engulfed in memories of the night before. He had never had sex with a man before and, if he had been a woman or the man had been anyone but Itachi, he would have thought that Itachi's departure meant he was a poor lover.

Yet he knew this had not been the case; from the moment Itachi pressed their lips together, Naruto knew he would be leaving. The thought had been dwelling in the back of his mind, forbidden by pleasure, but it had festered and grew. Naruto knew, without a doubt, that their act last night had been a farewell, a parting of two people who could have been so much more.

Ignoring the letter on the desk and slipping out of his house once dressed, Naruto walked around the quiet streets, hood of his jumper pulled up against the rain. Almost all shops around him were closed, with only a few beginning to set up. There were a handful of people milling about as most were in their warm beds but the Hokage wouldn't be able to think in his bed.

Instead, Naruto walked the familiar path to the Memorial Stone. A shadow loomed over the stone and Naruto was only half surprised to see his former Jounin Sensei standing next to the stone, both hands in his pockets and back slumped slightly. Neither man acknowledged each other until Naruto slumped against the elder slightly, eyes focused on the names of the stone.

"Naruto? Are you okay?"

Turning his head so that he was looking into Kakashi's single eye, Naruto blinked as the rain droplets began to cover his cheeks, tracing the paths that sweat, blood and tears had crawled down so many times.

"Is the rain a sign Kakashi-sensei? I heard that Pein could control rain…"

It wasn't really a question; both of them knew that Pein was coming, most likely moving towards Konoha now, but it needed to be said.

There was a small collection of rocks over to the side of the stone and Kakashi gestured to them simply. Naruto nodded and the pair made their way to them, both still facing the large stone.

"There's something else isn't there Naruto?"

Naruto nodded slightly as Kakashi hit the nail straight on the head. He had never been able to hide from Kakashi, even after the amount of training he received with Jiraiya. Kakashi had tutored him in elemental manipulation but he had made it clear that the teachings he performed were for someone of a higher calibre. Naruto had struggled slightly – yes – but seeing Kakashi's proud face after he completed a seemingly daunting task made the burden bearable.

"I haven't been completely honest since we came back from our last mission together."

Kakashi's head snapped to the side and he looked questioningly at Naru, asking him silently to continue.

"You probably know by now that I used a replacement technique at some point between meeting with Tobi and Zetsu and going to find Sasuke and Itachi, don't look at me like that I know you know." Kakashi smiled under his mask and nodded, "Well there was a reason for this; Itachi came to me just as the fight started and showed me something unintentionally…"

Naruto took a deep breath before turning his eyes up to the soaking sky.

"I saved him and he helped. I brought him back and saved him, Kakashi-Sensei, but he's gone now. He left last night and I fear…"

Naruto didn't need to continue the rest of the sentence as Kakashi drew the younger in a hug. He knew that Naruto was a powerful Shinobi – even so to be leader of a whole nation, and Tsunade-sama would not have chosen a mere chump for her successor – yet he was still a teenager; a teenager who had lived through so much and aged mentally, but not exactly emotionally.

Although they may appear it, many Shinobi never learnt to grow emotionally. Yes they could remain stony faced through torture and grief but this didn't mean they had dealt with the emotion, shouldered it and worked through the consequences; they shielded themselves from them and hid the emotions deep inside until it was too late and they were lost.

It was obvious Naruto was scared, most likely scared that Itachi had returned to the Akatsuki. He didn't know the circumstances in which Itachi was saved, but for Naruto to trust him, a man who had been trying to catch and kill him for years, so readily, Kakashi would follow Naruto's judgement. After, he wasn't only his student but his Hokage and friend.

"If the inevitable occurs sooner rather than later, know that you team, your village will be behind you. There is nothing to fear when you know that this many people would willingly fight against such a force."

Kakashi released Naruto and looked deep into his eyes,

"Remember that it is not the strength of our arms, but the strength that comes from within us."

Everything was silent as Naruto mulled over the words yet was broken at the incredulous look on the Hokage's face and the mirth in Kakashi's eyes.

"I can't believe you stole that line and remember it! That woman and her damned cat… still she was good with words and that makes sense."

The men sat in silence for a while, contemplating former missions and memories from times long ago. Kakashi stood suddenly and offered his hand to Naruto,

"You know, I think Sakura makes a good hot chocolate. She'd be pleased to see you as it's her day off from the hospital. I was thinking of coming along myself later to see how she was and if she wanted a little training session… we could always do with someone else and I believe you have some skills that you've been hiding from me."

Naruto chuckled at the normalcy of their conversation and smiled thankfully at Kakashi's semi-attempt at distraction. For some reason, the Jounin always seemed to be able to interpret Naruto's feelings and tilt them so they were balanced again; he just surmised that it was most likely a teacher thing.

As he nodded to Kakashi's suggestion, Naruto wasn't sure if the slight lift in rain was reality or just an illusion.

 **現実**

The girl was annoyingly bitchy, the guy was obscenely loud and the brat was deathly quiet. Pein resisted the urge to growl at the trio as they walked at a diagonal to him, Karin and Suigetsu flanking the brat as though he was king of the world.

They had been travelling for hours now, flitting between running and walking. Pein hated to run but it stopped the annoying chatter between the other pair of their makeshift team and that was what really mattered now.

Kisame had been easy to put into place; Konan hadn't talked either, her mind focused solely on revenge for the war. Obviously her path had become distorted at the end and it was because of her that Pein knew his position in this war even more than he had. He was a God, higher than Madara's claim to kingship, and he would govern over all.

"God, why can't you just grow up!" One of the Paths winced at the high shriek and Pein rolled his eyes. They were at it again. Deciding that he didn't want to be caught in the crossfire of this stupid babble, Pein decided to remind the brats of a few important rules,

"Shinobi need the advantage if they are to take on the population of Konohagakure. I'm going to be discussing plans now so if you do not wish to know, carry on as you have been."

His tone was cold and deject yet it caught their attention, the flabbergasted female closing her jaw as she was reprimanded in such a way. Obviously she wasn't used to full domination by an authorative leader than Orochimaru and Sasuke.

"I will have three of my paths work on distraction and infiltration while the other three – and you – search for the Jinchuuriki. I will not disclose the divisionary tactics with you in case you get caught; Morino Ibiki threatens this plan if that should happen."

Taking a breath, Pein was amused at the expression on Sasuke's face. Surely the brat should know that he wasn't without his sources. After all, Konoha was one of the largest Nations in the country and homed the Nine Tailed Bijuu. It would be hard work to take on all of Konoha so Pein had prepared years ago.

"Sasuke I want you taking to places you know he went, Karin and Suigetsu take one side of Konoha each – decide amongst yourselves – and I will go to the one place out little Hokage may just be; the Hokage tower."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Pein knew that he was about to question something.

"Why do you get the place where he most likely will be? Won't he trust me more… they don't know I work for the Akatsuki now."

Pein stopped suddenly and turned to face a Sharingan-eyed Sasuke. Obviously he was expecting confrontation, but that wasn't what Pein wanted this time.

"Then you truly are ignorant. We believe that the Hachibi – that you failed to seal, may I remind – set up a consultation with the Kyuubi; that the pair have an open bond. Of course this only works if the Bijuu and Jinchuuriki are in a state of synchronicity which leads us to believe that Namikaze Naruto is far more powerful than we ever paid tribute for. Given the fact that he became Hokage at such a young age also indicates this… need I go on?"

Sasuke scowled, the frown lines on his face becoming more prominent.

"Considering that he is this powerful, and chose not to show it when fighting against you, we should assume that he is above the Godaime Tsunade's level… he also beat Kakuzu in a fight, singlehandedly killing him, twice was it?, and then managing to perform so many hits with one technique… he is simply amazing and unworthy of your fight. If you were to fight him he would turn everything against you and we would lose."

There were plenty of other reasons why Pein refused to allow Sasuke to be the one to capture the Kyuubi but if they continued in this fashion, they would never reach Konoha.

"I'm going to put up a chakra scan system. It'll notify me when we reach the outer protection borders to Konoha. Sasuke, you may be able to get in unidentified but I'm not going to risk that chance as you have been a registered Missing Nin for three years, give or take."

It unnerved Pein when Sasuke agreed with him and forced his legs to take up a walking pace once more. The bickering couple had been quiet ever since the conversation had started and was slightly surprised at the amount of authority he instantly had from this team.

These kids, really. They were young and impressionable because they lived in peaceful times, not knowing the horrors of war, especially that of a civil war.

A civil war differed from a national war because nowhere was safe. Your very streets – the streets you had played on the night before with friends – became death traps and each time your parents opened the door to collect the paper, it ended in them being stripped of everything and murdered simply because they believed in something different to that of the executioner.

It was what had happened to them; Nagato, Konan and Yahiko. Konoha would never truly understand unless the decrepit councillors managed an uprising… which looked very doubtful seeing as they had lost their troops; ROOT.

Without a word, Pein signalled to the team that they should pick up the pace. They were drawing closer to the heart of the Fire Country with every passing step and Pei's smirk grew along with the shortage of the distance.

 **現実**

Naruto skimmed over puddles, resisting the urge to jump in them. His eyes rested on the house before him and he smiled, knowing Sakura's face would be pleased at his arrival. He raised a hand to knock at the door but stopped short as he heard voices;

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then." Well that was definitely Sakura's voice…

"Yeah, shame Naruto didn't allow me a day off too but I have so much work to get through. Filing cabinets," a deeper voice explained and Naruto found himself nodding along in agreement. For some reason, he knew that voice and yet couldn't place it. He inched closer, fully intent on spying the old fashioned way.

"I'll cook dinner tonight then, I think Kakashi wanted to come by… see you around seven then?"

There was a long pause and Naruto wondered why the mystery man hadn't replied.

And then it hit him; Sakura was most likely seeing off her secret lover, kissing him passionately up against the door as he was thinking this… and he had to walk through the threshold knowing what they'd just done.

Just as he was about to bolt for the nearby bushes, the front door opened and Naruto's mouth fell open at the sight of Sai.

"Naruto!" Sakura cheered and smiled at him, the face he'd known she would make. Sai smiled too yet the pair froze as Naruto looked them both up and down critically.

"Uh, Naruto?"

The Hokage held up a hand and peered at both of their faces, intent on spotting any signs they had just been in 'a fiery, passionate kiss'. Giving up, Naruto decided to simply plunge in,

"You know, I'm a little offended that the two of you didn't tell me."

Sakura's face fell and she looked guilty immediately. Sai frowned and looked at Naruto as if he had pronounced he was a pink elephant on a war path.

"I'm so sorry Naruto… I didn't think you would have time anyway and Sai told me that you already have plans which is why I didn't extend it to the three of us… but you should know that you can always just join in! Kakashi-sensei's coming over for it tonight so you're welcome too."

Naruto froze once more; how had he never known Sakura was up for group sex? Sure she was a confident woman but to gloat about it this openly? He failed to notice the dark, critical eyes of Sai and turned to him as he spoke,

"I think we've got the wrong idea… Naruto, explain what you mean."

Naruto scrunched his face up and looked between the pair,

"So you're not dating then? Is it just casual sex? Sakura! You're a she-devil!"

Sakura's face grew to a deep pink as she rolled up her sleeves, fully prepared to punch the living daylights out of Naruto. Naruto, sensing the danger, hid behind Sai and apologised. It was a few minutes before Sakura calmed down enough to explain the misunderstanding.

"Sai and I have been having dinner recently, it just so happened that it was late last night so I suggested that he could stay over in the guest room. Kakashi-Sensei declines most of the invitations but he's coming over tonight… I'm sorry Naruto. Sai did say that you had dinner with someone else though but you're welcome to join us whenever."

Naruto looked at Sai and smiled weakly. Sai met his eyes and then looked to Naruto's shoulder for the familiar presence of Itachi, only to look back into blue eyes with a questioning look. Sakura was continuing to apologise and Naruto mouthed the word 'gone'. It was all that was needed to explain the circumstances.

"Can I spend the day Sakura? Dinner would be most wonderful… my friend has gone now so I think it will have to be a regular occurrence."

Sakura shouted out loud and hugged Naruto tightly, thanking him. When she released him, Sai bobbed his head in thanks for the night before and left, declining Naruto's offer of taking a day off. Naruto didn't blame him; if he skipped out one day of filing then everything could go wrong from that point.

Sakura led Naruto inside and they moved into a comfortable room with two beanbag seats as well as the traditional tea sets and low table. Sakura excused herself to make the tea and returned with a full kettle to compliment her beaming smile.

Tilting the angle of the kettle, Sakura poured the green tinted liquid out into two cups, passing one to Naruto and setting hers before her. The two sat in companionable silence as they waited for the steam to cool off. Naruto decided that he should make the first effort; after all he had neglected his friends slightly since having Itachi in his life.

"How is work at the hospital? I haven't heard any complaints since you started so you have to be doing something good," Naruto said. Sakura chuckled in response and took a tentative sip of her drink.

"It's hard work some days yet rewarding. I get to save people, diagnose others and heal everyone who comes in. I get to help nurses who need an extra boost of confidence and talk to those who need a little taking down… I wouldn't change my job in the world, except to be out on the field of course."

Naruto smiled grimly, deciding to free a few classified topics up.

"Well it's good you're ready to face being out on field as we'll need all the medics we can." He set his cup on the table and leant a hand against his cheek, staring straight into emerald eyes. "Pein's coming for Konoha and it is our, my, belief that Sasuke is with him."

Sakura gasped softly, fingers falling short of her cup and closing in on thin air.

"What will you do?"

Naruto shrugged and Sakura caught the message; even by revealing one thing there was still a lot of concealing that was done and she couldn't dispute with this.

The day passed with conversations and delicious teas. They spent the time inside, reminiscing about certain things and Naruto explaining concepts of the Hokage job to Sakura. She had had experience with Tsunade yet it was completely different to the time with Naruto controlling Konoha; it appeared that there were so many secret schemes and it was odd to see Naruto knowing and memorising the little facts.

It wasn't that he was incapable of this, more the fact that Naruto had always been one to do things rather than sit and plot. It made Sakura wonder how much she truly knew her friend.

"The door was unlocked so I just let myself in."

Naruto and Sakura smiled up at the voice and greeted Kakashi. For once, Sakura commented a little while later, he wasn't late. Kakashi had replied that it wasn't often the Rokudaime visited them and that he could enjoy the few moments away from peace, yet he look in Kakashi's eye said that he wanted to take Naruto's mind off of the subject they had discussed earlier and as both a teacher and friend, Kakashi would be damned if he let Naruto wallow.

"Sai should be coming at seven so I'll go start dinner now. It'll be something simple but hopefully it'll be enough. It's nice to cook for a lot of people. If I need any help, I'll shout okay? You guys play nicely and Kakashi will get drinks if you need them won't you Kakashi-sensei?"

The old teacher manipulation trick; works like a charm; Kakashi grunted and seated himself on the floor opposite Naruto. In an undertone he asked Naruto how he was and Naruto relayed that Sakura did not know of the situation, but he was fine.

Seeming satisfied by this answer, Kakashi ducked his head and called for Sai – who had been standing outside of the door – to come in. It wasn't long before the three men were sitting together, tea in hand and speaking in undertones about Konohagakure's future.

As Sakura entered the room with a tray laden with food, Kakashi smiled warmly at Naruto,

"Remember Naruto, the reality can shape you, change who you are, but it will never take away your essence. We will be here for you, no matter what, and not even burning the city to the ground can change that."

Naruto nodded in thought, counting the hours until Konoha would face the inevitable first strike. The rain outside had picked up and, as the first roll of thunder pealed about the land, Naruto's stomach jolted and all four paused in their eating; the message clear…

It was coming.

 **Echo**

 **a repetition of sound produced by the reflection of sound waves from a wall, mountain, or other obstructing surface**

 **反響**

It was nearing to nightfall and Pein was beginning to wish that he'd just come alone. The team behind him weren't used to the Akatsuki's durability and this wore on Pein's nerves. They were constantly stopping, or so it seemed to the Rinnegan user, and he had to listen to the bickering pair as they argued over everything. Sasuke didn't even rein them in to shut them up, some Team Leader.

Pein's neck tingled and a kunai whizzed from his hand, up to the trees. A dark shape fell from the tree nearby and the group behind him silenced, looking for orders. Scowling as he confirmed his thoughts on what the object was, Pein retrieved his kunai and lifted the feathered body up to the rest of the team.

Sasuke's reaction was the most amusing; his eyes widened and shot a glare of pure hatred towards Pein, as if he'd caused a grievous offence. Well, he basically had; the raven he had killed could have been Itachi, he knew it wasn't now because the body would have lost its form and returned to the human form… besides; it would take more than a kunai to kill Uchiha Itachi for sure.

"If you see a raven, kill it. No questions just do it." Pein wasn't going to take chances here; Itachi had to be terminated and this was one way that he could ensure this. He hated that he might not be the one to end the Uchiha's life but it was better that someone else do it than Pein surrender his heavens to a false God.

"Why?" It was obviously, predictably, Sasuke who had asked the question and Pein answered as he threw the body of the bird on the floor, stepping over it nimbly.

"The reason is because birds are spies. There are people in Konoha who formed alliances long ago and the Hokage's personal friend has a high degree of control over them. They'll be part of the Jinchuuriki's defence and we need to break the defence as soon as possible."

Sasuke scowled, casting his mind back and wondering who this personal friend of Naruto's could be. As far as he knew, there were only a few people in Konoha who even had contact with birds, all of whom were in the older generations. How Naruto could become such a close personal friend to one – and while letting Pein know about it – Sasuke didn't know but continued to think, just in case an answer did come to his mind.

They continued onwards, Pein's eyes scouting the skies for dark shapes. There was one, but it was too high off for them to touch and he wasn't sure if it was really a bird or a figment of his imagination.

The Rinnegan blurred slightly and Pein held out a hand, knowing that they'd arrived at the very border of Konohagakure. He nodded to himself before looking back at the group.

"Unfortunately I have to explain how to get in so if you do get captured, don't let it be a Yamanaka clan member, they'd pry too much out of us and I don't want that to happen. We'll be sending the Summon Realm in so that they underestimate our numbers and that is all you need to know."

Uncharacteristically, Pein was being rather articulate. He hated the fact that he had to dictate the plans they were to carry out but it was the only way to ensure a successful mission. Sasuke had messed up – rather spectacularly – on the last mission, and only mission, he had performed for the Akatsuki so it was only fair that he was treated as an idiotic child.

Pein was just thankful that he didn't have to include diagrams into the equation; that would be the true downfall of his reputation.

Before he could explain how they were to counter the barrier, four shadowy forms escaped the trees and stood before them. The ravens cocked their heads before simultaneously morphing into their billowing cloaks.

"Akatsuki, we cannot allow you entry into Konohagakure no Sato. You defy rules of entry by coming here with resolutions to harm our Hokage and his village, something we cannot allow."

Pein stared at the forms, Rinnegan searching through the folds of the clothing in order to identify if any of them were Itachi.

"You won't find our Master here, Pein of Akatsuki." Pein's eyes narrowed and he replied tersely,

"So is he guarding your precious Hokage?"

Silence answered his question and a plan began to form in Pein's mind. He knew that if Itachi wasn't guarding the Hokage directly, he must be here. There was no way that the Uchiha would allow himself to abandon his birthplace again, especially as he could deal a mighty hand in this upcoming battle.

Which only left one option left; Itachi was here and the four were just playing with his mind. Now it was just a case of assessing each figure to see which one fitted the Uchiha's profile. There was one assurance here; Itachi wouldn't be able to disguise himself by use of Genjutsu as the Rinnegan would be able to combat it easily. If there were any changes to his build, they would have had to be put on by acting… and Itachi was a marvellous actor.

Pein wouldn't have even doubted the elder Uchiha brother's loyalty unless Madara had told him the story he had to Sasuke. He had been angry that it had been told to him after the battle in which Itachi had died, but the anger had subsided when he realised it was for the better.

Yet now, as the man was alive and he had been deceived yet again, Pein felt that it was time to even up the score. Itachi had lulled him into a false sense of security; he had believed wholly the Uchiha to be on their side and it irritated him to know that his supposed godly powers hadn't been able to see something that was so obviously under his nose.

Taking another glance at the group that had arranged themselves in a diamond shape; he lazily flicked a kunai from the folds of his cloaks.

"Stay back," he warned the others, not out of compassion or care but for the honour of the battle. This was his battle, his kill, and if the damned brat or his annoying team got in the way then he wasn't going to hold back any strike meant for the cloaked figures.

Pein surveyed the forms critically, eyes taking in the various moves he could perform and the possible counters. The feeling was exhilarating; he almost always knew what to expect out of an opponent as the Akatsuki only battled those it was deemed worthy to and Pein's last concern had been with a freelance Bijuu – an intelligent one that rubbed against its container and ended up somewhere between the two and very, very, volatile.

In a blur of black and red, Pein rushed forwards, a kunai laced to each finger. As he jumped over the group he loosened the weapons and they flew into the centre of the diamond. In one swift movement, the five Paths split; three taking up defensive positions and two others joining Pein.

Waiting for a reaction, Pain sent the other two Paths – the ones that had joined him – to the sides and connected the chakra ropes he had pulled onto the kunai to them, in effect splitting the diamond up so that they formed a triangle, connected at a centre point of chakra and kunai.

Without a single word or thought, the Paths – as one – pulled the strings tight and flared the chakra. The metal grew hot suddenly, expanding a little, and the first part of the plan was in motion. The four figures remained statue like as Pein smirked, ice spiking into the middle and coating the heated objects; serving to cool them rapidly.

The result was painful shards of sharpened metal bursting into the triangular perimeter, not passing the chakra connection but inflicting what appeared to be multiple wounds upon the black figures.

Returning to where the backup defence parties stood, the three Paths watched in interest as the dust from the explosion cleared, Pein's eyes locked on the one that had now moved to the centre. From past experiences, Pein knew that the highest in command was the most powerful and most respected of the group.

Itachi had mentioned that he had always been in high command amongst the birds; it would take an idiot not to notice how they would willingly subject themselves to use in his techniques. Not all of the ravens used were illusionary and many of them had carried messages discreetly from Akatsuki to the Uchiha and Kisame in times of communication lapse.

It was this way that Pein knew that Itachi had to be the one in the centre. The others would always form a blockade around the most important member and this was how Pein concluded that Itachi was that one. The build was similar, if a little stooped over, and the small gestures of the person reminded him of Itachi.

In unison, the four prepared their counter; each clasping their hands together in a seal and muttering words that came out as whispered caws. Pein watched them closely as he noticed a sealing circle move around them yet only realised what the nature of the sealing was when the first marks of possession crept upwards.

"Jump," was the smooth order – the only order he'd ever have to shout – that escaped his mouth and the huge pool of darkness that the circle had summoned brushed against their feet as they moved from the area.

Without wasting any time, for that was one of the things Pein hated the most, the Rinnegan flickered in his vision and he growled; the eyes paid a price, like any eye did, and it just so happened that they decided to be difficult now. Itachi had been the one to survive with eye conditions, near blindness if Sasuke's report of him blinding fully was anything to go by, and he would be operating with either borrowed eyes or no sight now.

Pein refused to allow the Uchiha to beat him. The Sharingan was dominated by the Rinnegan and that meant Pein had to prevail over the Uchiha.

Usually Pein entered conflicts calmly, sticking to minimalistic fights and generally not moving much. Usually he would enjoy his opponent as they destroyed themselves but he had a fine chance here to not only kill one of the Hokage's guards (more if he was to be so lucky) but the figure he believed to be Itachi.

And so, with the true thoughts of conflict swirling in his mind, Pein launched his attack. With each flicker of the Rinnegan, one path attacked. It was simultaneous, fast-paced, distressing and yet so beautiful.

This was a true battle, one where they could fight without limitations and yet still outnumber the enemy, letting Pein know he was to be the victor.

The fight lasted only a few minutes yet, to the spectators, it was a blur of metallic rings, people and black clothing. Pein ducked suddenly as the clothed Itachi swung at him, sliding round unexpectedly and stabbing the man in the side with a kunai. Taking no chances, he ran the blade down the man's side, effectively ripping his side open.

The intercostals muscles between the ribs snapped as the bones broke and Pein felt the tip of the kunai plunge into softer material; with any luck, his lung. The figure chocked one, blood spilling from his lips before he crumpled to the ground; dead.

It had been an almost pointless skirmish and the Akatsuki had triumphed over the first hurdle Konoha had presented them. Ignoring the blood on his hand, Pein ran it through his hair and smirked at the body on the floor.

In truth, he had been disappointed and knew, somewhere deep inside, that this was not Uchiha Itachi, master of the Sharingan. Instead, his mind blotted that fact out, preferring to gather his victory and sending the Paths back to the trio standing by the side.

"Your skills are impressive, Pein of Akatsuki… our leader would not have died if he had not let you take the kill; we believe there is a time for everything and the departure of our leader was the correct path for Karasu."

The emphasis on the word 'leader' caught Pein's ears and he snarled at the group. The group began to change into their bird counterparts, whispering caws forming next to Pein's ear,

"You did well to beat our leader here but facing Itachi-denka and Naruto-heika in Konoha would be a fool's doing, Nagato of the Rinnegan."

The first jolt had been at the amount of respect for Itachi and Naruto the birds seemed to have and yet the last, and deadliest, jolt had been at the addressal of his true name. So there were still creatures alive that remembered him as Nagato?

The ravens clattered off into the sky, dark inky blobs merging into the air around them. The body of their leader was left on the ground, thick blood welling from the dark material yet Pein paid no attention to it. His mind reeled from the last words of the ravens and he ignored the blood coated to his hand and hair, walking off and having the rest of the group follow at their whim.

It only took a few seconds to reach the barrier and Pein ordered the Summoning Path to step up.

"They'll underestimate our numbers," was all he supplied before launching the Path into the air and telling the others to grab onto a path.

Soon after, the familiar sense of being summoned engulfed Pein and he smirked grimly; Konoha would fall within the day.

 **反響**

Naruto looked to the three intruders that entered his office and smirked grimly. Their feathers were ruffled and there was even a shard of metal caught between two feathers on one bird. Without asking, Naruto leant forward and plucked the shard from the dark nest it had settled in and inspected it.

"A kunai?"

"Yes, Naruto-heika," spoke one of the now-transformed birds. "We had an unfortunate skirmish against the Akatsuki outside of the borders of Konoha. Nagato of the Rinnegan – Pein – killed our leader once we allowed him to. We have a plan, Naruto-heika, which we plan to continue… though we ask to conceal it from you."

Cradling his head in his hands, Naruto saw no reason to refuse the request – they would most likely do it anyway regardless to his agreement.

"He will be here shortly; there are nine of them in total; Nagato and his Paths as well as Itachi-denka's brother and his team. If you find yourself to be cornered by Pein, call him by Nagato. It is his true name and will have some effect on him."

Naruto looked to the speaker and nodded thankfully.

"Nagato of the Rinnegan… do the others have titles?"

Eyes flickered in the depths of hoods as Naruto waited.

"Sasuke of the Sharingan, Suigetsu of the Sword and Karin. If one has not yet defined themselves in this world, or was not born with the title, then they have no title. You carry an important title, Naruto-heika, one that is not to be taken lightly."

Naruto looked up in surprise; since when did he have a title?

"You are Naruto of Konoha, Naruto the Sage, Naruto of the Kyuubi… you have many names yet it is the last one that many will know. The mark on your arm serves to remind those that you not only contain the Kyuubi, but you work with him. I have seen other marks like that but none have shown such a spectacular colour as yours."

Naruto glanced down to the mark on his arm and frowned; it was a pearly white colour. Since when had he been able to master Sage Chakra?

"Your sword and your Bijuu complement each other. The sword has calmed the Kyuubi no Kitsune down slightly and the Kyuubi has given his fire to the sword. You will need to use them in conjunction to your Sage Chakra; no doubt Fukasaku-sama explained to you the disabilities of such power."

Naruto nodded, remembering the brief conversation in which Fukasaku had warned him that there would be cons to the technique and marvelled at the simple way to overcome it.

"Of course there will be setbacks, there are with everything, but we wish you the best of luck."

As one, they rose and began to change.

"Remember to address him as Nagato of the Rinnegan. Remember that and you may have the key to defeating Pein."

Naruto watched as the birds escaped the room, bodies hung low in the sky and chatters calling to each other. He wondered what they could be planning, slightly curious, and the thought crossed to him that they had promised four ravens to be with him at the time of battle. It had hardly begun and already one had allowed death to take them… could the fourth possibly be…?

With a sigh, Naruto took the scroll from his pocket and ran a thumb over the script upon it.

'Itachi…'

Hardly thinking, Naruto finally opened the letter. The dread that had consumed him since the Uchiha left lightened slightly at the first line and yet plunged into dark depths at the same time.

'Dear Naruto,

I know you do not wish for apologies so I offer none, though if we were in any other time, any other place, I would start by saying I'm sorry.

When you saved me, I stuck with you because of a stupid debt I had to repay. If you hadn't asked me to stay for the Kyuubi at least then I would have left in order to find self destruction. As it was, I needed to repay you somehow and it appeared the only way you wanted this was by keeping me safe. Who was I to deny someone such as you? I may need to explain that part later.

It didn't end there though; I thought I could just show you a little companionship yet I never expected feelings to grow out of this. Everything I did, from even before we returned to Konoha, I did not because of some stupid thing I owed you, but for the feelings I felt for you.

You're not a dumb person Naruto; I know that you know the act I instigated was a farewell; my debt finally paid to you. The feelings that grew may not have faded but I could walk away knowing I had nothing to repay you; nothing to hold me to Konoha so I would have to stay.

I do not mean to be harsh in saying this… in fact it has taken me weeks to decide upon even leaving Konoha. In more ways than one, your village will never leave me and this both saddens me and delights me.

The delight is only because I know that I will finally be free of the curses that were put upon my head far before you saved me Naruto. I became Konoha's pawn again and I never wish to decide something as terrible as that again. You saw the repercussions of that action, how it affected not only me but even reaching to you. I can't do that again.

Returning to my earlier point, the reason I could never deny you was because only you stayed around to see the truth. The only people who knew the full truth were Madara, Sarutobi-sama, the Advisors and Danzou. Madara left after we exterminated the clan, the Advisors and Danzou hushed everything up and even Hokage-sama swore an oath of secrecy; his upon my pleading.

But you… you didn't run. You didn't cover it up; you accepted it for part of me. You helped me but, most of all, you saved me; made me forget who I had been for the past decade or so.

Thank you.

I want to leave the Uchiha estates to you; as head of Clan I ask of you to either take down the properties and rebuild upon the land or put it to some other use. Rid the village of the Uchiha curse and place something else upon it.

The sunlight is just touching the highest parts of the land now and I wish to be gone before you wake; Karasu will protect you and I know you are more than capable at taking Akatsuki on.

If you see Sasuke… just smile. I would want to see him for myself but as that is no longer an option I hope you can get him back to Konoha. Madara will have poisoned his mind but if anyone can save him… well, it would be you, Naruto.

As for me… I might pay a visit to Kisame f I get the chance. He will most likely be the last person I see before I die as I plan to travel to the Sacred Temples of the Raven and seek whatever peace I can there.

I wish you the best of luck and only wish this had been another time, another place… another world.

Itachi.'

Naruto's breath shuddered and a single tear slipped from his eye; it was true, then; Itachi had given up and resorted to sealing himself away from human contact completely.

"What a waste…" Naruto muttered, anger biting inside of him, denying the sorrow that rose in his heart. He refused to acknowledge the fact that maybe he had felt something a little more than like toward the Uchiha, the only person to have known everything about him.

"Shizune!" He barked, harsher than it was supposed to come out.

"Yes, Naruto?"

With a grim look in his eye, Naruto lifted his head to meet Shizune's gaze and nodded.

"I want everyone to prepare for the Akatsuki. Get Genin to evacuate the villagers to the mountain and take them through the tunnels and as far away as possible. Every available Chuunin, Jounin and ANBU is to be alerted of the danger and placed into the groups we organised. I want everyone to be prepared for Akatsuki. Tell Tsunade and the other teams to protect their surroundings in relation to the artefacts Jiraiya-sensei recovered and then you're free to help them."

Naruto paused, as if unsure to continue;

"Thank you, Shizune… and good luck."

Shizune nodded to Naruto once, resisting the urge to hug the man. He looked so old for his age, so worried for his land and yet so mighty… just as Minato had looked on the night the Kyuubi was sealed. She had only been a child then and yet she still remembered the beautiful, haggard face of the young Hokage. Was his son truly doomed to follow a similar fate?

After Shizune left, Naruto looked out of the window to his village and saw a huge dog-like creature appear out of thin air. It was just on the outskirts and yet enough to cause a shudder in the Hokage tower. Naruto closed his eyes; he didn't want Konoha to fall like this and would be damned if he let it.

The mark on his arm itched suddenly and Naruto opened his eyes, surprised to see the Kyuubi staring back at him.

"Kyuubi?" Red eyes raked up and down his body before a tongue lolled from black-rimmed jaws.

"You are off to war then…"

"Now is hardly the time for a social chat I-"

"Listen to me, Naruto." It wasn't often that the fox called him by his name and in such a serious tone. For the Kyuubi to have called him here and in such a way spelt something serious.

"I want you to know that, if it comes to you fulfilling the promise you made to Itachi, I will allow it to happen. Death by your hands would be infinite times better than being sealed into the Akatsuki's hands and you may even survive it."

Naruto's eyes widened at the fox's words and felt himself leaving the company, echoes of the last sentence ringing in his ear;

"I don't think it will come to that though, Naruto, I place my full trust in you."

 **Intention**

 **an act or instance of determining mentally upon some action or result**

 **意図**

The undercurrents of wind whittled through Itachi's wings as he splayed the feathers out, allowing the up-thrust to cart him forwards and headlong into the breeze. The morning was chilly and clouds hung low in the sky. There was barely any sun over the horizon yet that didn't affect the raven; he had to leave Konoha alone and it had to be done now. If he didn't go now, there would be no way that he'd leave at all.

There was such a thing as getting too comfy, and it was exactly what Itachi had become in Konoha.

There were such luxuries that Itachi would never allow himself to have again, not with everything still up in the air as it was. By writing that letter, he had decided his future, and he planned to stick to it as much as could be considered possible.

So, as he had explained in that letter, he would look for Kisame; try to dissuade the man from hunting in Konoha, before flying to the mountains where he would create his final tomb. There was a voice in his head, informing him that this was a waste, a waste of the gifts he had earned from the Deities and a waste of his intellect, but in truth, there was nothing that he would do otherwise.

Flying over the sparser patches of forest that built up the area around Konoha, Itachi noticed a huddle of people, all sporting matching cloaks. Although for a normal bird he would have been too far away to see the group clearly, as a Shinobi, Itachi was used to having to spot long distances – even without the Sharingan.

This was how he knew that Sasuke was among them, flanked by two of his team. Pein stood walked next to him, eyes darting around the nearby foliage and the Paths following his lead.

What shocked him more than the fact that they were looking for something, was that Sasuke was here, wearing the robes of Akatsuki and seemingly calm about the act he was about to perform. Sasuke had changed so much and Itachi stumbled in his flight path, dropping down a few metres.

He caught the glint of the Rinnegan as Pein shot a look upwards, but the famed eyes dimmed a little as his eyelids narrowed, obviously trying to figure out if he was a bird or not, yet the eyes dismissed him and Pein carried on. With a shudder in his heartbeat – for Itachi had been thrown off guard with the appearance of Sasuke and Pein could quite easily have taken him down with a kunai, down to the ground and to Sasuke – Itachi climbed back up to the highest point his lungs could accept and allowed the air to lift him up.

The oxygen level decreased and a lightheaded feeling surrounded the black bird. He choked back a caw of appreciation and turned his beady eyes to the ground, sensing something was wrong.

As he settled on the ground, changing his shape back to that of a human's slowly and stiffly, Itachi noticed the silence that coated the area. Where were the birds? The animals? Everything felt wrong and something felt as though it was crawling up Itachi's skin, brushing against every sore nerve in his body.

He spotted a dark shape on the ground and frowned; was this the aforementioned source of discomfort? Walking over to it, Itachi grimaced at the blood on the woodland floor. He was no stranger to blood yet this blood was innocent blood, blood that Itachi hated to see.

There was one thing that even a seasoned Shinobi would never be able to master and that would be the feeling deep in your soul upon seeing innocent blood spilt. Innocent blood classified as children, civilians, defenceless Shinobi or Kunoichi and, as strange as it may seem, animals that were not part of the battle. The black huddle of feathers that used to be a living, breathing bird, seemed pitiful to Itachi and he knelt down beside the corpse.

Glassy, lifeless eyes stared mockingly up at Itachi and he looked away, dropping the body on the floor. There was a kunai next to it, most likely it had fallen from the bird's chest when it had been dropped on the floor, and Itachi took a moment to inspect it.

It took all of one second to identify who had thrown the weapon due to the chakra residue left upon the iron; Pein. A frown marred the normally straight features and he turned his head, only for a brief moment, back in the direction of Konoha.

And, for a brief moment, he entertained the thought of going back. He could slip into their – Naruto's – room and apologise, saying it was a misjudgement on his behalf and he knew where his path was. Naruto would most likely forgive him eventually, especially as he would help Konoha with the oncoming slaughter Pein would bring…

Pein. It clicked suddenly that Akatsuki had been heading to Konoha, that there was no upcoming war, it was happening now. Naruto would be fighting for his village, his life, so soon and Pein would either fall or claim victory. Pein would find out so many things if he managed to get into Naruto's mind, not just selfish secrets, Itachi's secrets, but his own. Someone as hidden as Naruto had become would certainly have some huge secrets.

Dismissing the thought – after all, if he went back now he would never leave, and he had lived through enough wars to last his lifetime – Itachi took to the air, leaving the stained bird and grass behind him to join Konohagakure no Sato in his past.

It only took an hour or so to fly down to the nearest water body, or one big enough that he could ensure safety by being able to see everything around him. He stuck to the avian form, clawed feet hopping on the ground and wings tugging upwards slightly as he shifted closer to the water without falling from the bank.

Itachi looked into the water and started; he had never seen himself in this form before and so he tilted his head, attempting to get used to the crooked features and hooked beak the water offered as a reflection. How odd to wear these on his face as opposed to the everyday human features he was so used to.

A flicker in the nearby bushes alerted Itachi to the arrival of something else, a large animal that was blundering through the foliage. The slight squelch of hooves through mud allowed Itachi to rid the presence from being a human and soon found himself looking into the hazel eyes of a stag. The pointed head of the deer rose and he stepped closer to the body of water, fur shagging off of his body as the muscles underneath rippled.

With a grunt, the stag took a draught from the water before turning his head upwards and bellowing. It was such a sound that no animal would make in the presence of a human (for Itachi knew he was alerting the others in his herd of the safety they could have while taking this opportunity to drink) and the Uchiha took flight, frightened to be the outsider in such a natural scene.

Not quite a human anymore, as he fled from his kind or his kind fled from him, yet not an animal as that would be a false intrusion.

It didn't take long for Itachi to notice a ripple in the nature around him, an odd sensation that stained his very core and so he descended, stepping to the ground as a man. Within three minutes he had identified the chakra barrier and inserted his own chakra, boosting it to an almost explosive quality before him, and the barrier fell, chakra sparking here and there as it suddenly lost power.

It had been a weak barrier which suggested that the user was far away and hadn't intended for the chakra to remain for a very long time. Stepping into the area, Itachi glanced around, aware for traps and other ploys that could alert the instigator to his presence.

His ears picked up a high pitched trill and he automatically cancelled the sound barrier, narrowing his eyes as he heard a coughing sound. It wasn't that far off and yet the sound itself was quiet, almost as if the person was trying to remain silent or grievously wounded.

Stepping over the mulch and scattered tree debris, Itachi picked his way towards the sound, a kunai slipping from the pouch inside of his dark cloak and slipping down his sleeve. It had been a trick he had learnt at the Akatsuki and, sometimes, old habits die hard.

A soft, concealed moan could be heard and Itachi looked to the side, not paying attention to where he was treading. A sickening crack made him jolt his leg upwards, wrenching his foot away from the source and finding it to be a dejected, forgotten Samehada.

Bending downwards to pick up the broken object, and noticing the scales skitter down the blade as if they were nothing but ornaments, he looked around, everything connecting in his head.

He had thought it odd that Kisame had not been with Pein, only assuming he was back with Madara or scouting around. The truth was startling – what could have made Pein, or Madara for that matter, so mad that they would kill someone as seemingly loyal as Kisame?

Because Kisame was far more loyal than anyone Itachi had known. Not even an offer of safety had swayed the man and it had been an offer worth considering.

"Kisame?" Itachi's voice broke the silence in the area and a muffled grunt came from his left. Instantly, he darted it with little mind about the possibility of traps or alerting anyone who could be nearby; The only pair he would have to fear now would be Madara and Zetsu… and he had the upper hand of surprise there.

"Kisame!" The surprised Uchiha hurried to the man's side, looking his state over critically. From where he was, he could tell that the tall man didn't have very long left; his skin was tinted a sickly grey and the amount of bones that looked to be broken was extortionate. It was amazing that he hadn't died yet.

"Ita-chi?"

The reply was stuttered as red-rimmed eyes opened to reveal watery eyes and yellowing pupils.

"It's okay Kisame, show or tell me where it hurts the most." Even after everything he had just done, abandoning Naruto and Konoha, he could not abandon Kisame. This wasn't to say that he valued Kisame over Naruto, or Konoha for that matter, but it was correct in thinking that Itachi simply wouldn't be able to cope with himself.

Already he had desired to go back to Konoha and call everything off to Naruto and he had decided against it. The thoughts were swilling in his head and because of his damn curiosity (though he supposed it was really a good thing, after all it led him to Kisame) he had uncovered his ex-partner, the one he had offered salvation to such a long time.

And, for the love of him, he could not turn away and leave Kisame here. Itachi knew that Kisame wouldn't be leaving this place, that Kisame would die here, but if he could just be here for him, ease the passing and possibly even talk, and then the guilt that had risen with past events might start to ebb away.

There was only so much one human could contain, after all, and Itachi needed to find a way to release all of the emotion before he was overruled by it and it consumed him, dragging him down to a dark pit of nothingness.

He wondered if Naruto had felt this way when he had been saving him, alone and betraying his home just to save one man. And what had that man done with the offered salvation? Shoved it back in the saviours face and walked away in his time of need.

After a few moments to asses Kisame's body, noting how his breathing was scratchy and believing the ribs, at least, to be damaged, Itachi sent green healing chakra to his hands and worked it slowly over Kisame's thorax. He was no expert in healing but he did what he had to do, allowing the charge in the chakra to consume the cells and force them to regenerate faster. He couldn't simply replicate healed tissue out of nowhere, after all, and basic medical training only required that you could regenerate cells.

It took a couple of painstaking minutes but Kisame's breathing evened a little and he tilted his head up so that his eyes looked directly into Itachi's. A blank smile accompanied the look and he forced Itachi's healing hands away with a shaking grip.

"There's… no point – kid. I'm a goner… soon anyway."

Itachi frowned and attempted to heal Kisame again, but was met with a snarl and a cold look. This time when he spoke, Kisame's voice was steady, if quiet,

"I told you once, Itachi, I know I'm dying and I've accepted it. Just let me die."

Injustice welled up inside of Itachi yet he nodded, cutting the connection of chakra to his hands and sitting back a little. There was silence between the pair – the resurrected Uchiha and the beaten Hoshigaki – before Itachi turned away, eyes down cast.

"You always seemed indestructible to me," he admitted after a while, not once looking Kisame in the eyes. Kisame remained silent, mouth open and breaths wheezing as he inhaled. To Itachi, the wheezing sounded like a countdown, the time until they finally ceased and Kisame died.

"Who was it?" It was such a simple question in the way it was only three short words, yet the answer was so much harder to form. Itachi almost believed that Kisame had ignored him when the reply finally came.

It was so quiet, so strained, that Itachi had to read Kisame's lips. His eyes widened in shock, even though he knew, deep down, it was to be expected. Madara wouldn't want to dirty his hands yet Pein could find a reason for anything.

Anger bubbled in Uchiha Itachi's veins and he fought hard to control it. There had only been a few moments when he had been truly angry; when Madara had freely offered to kill the youngest members of the Uchiha Clan (and with a smile upon his face as he offered to extend the 'gratitude' to Sasuke), the moment Madara had made his true intentions clear and kissed him and this moment, to find that Pein had left an ally in such a way.

It all returned to that one question; what exactly had Kisame done?

 **意図**

There were moments in Haruno Sakura's life where she wished she had never become a Kunoichi. There had been the times when Naruto and Sasuke were constantly fighting, even more so after the Chuunin exams, and the times when she had seen Naruto drive himself to near-death in order to keep a stupid, childish promise for her.

Even she knew it was an idiotic promise, a dream that was a childish fantasy. Sakura knew that Sasuke would never come back and part of her knew that Naruto knew that, even if he hadn't recognised that fact already.

When he had become the Hokage, she would openly admit she was scared. Naruto had been her link to the world, her link to the earth and life around her. Sakura had thought she had known Naruto from top to bottom and he had still managed to show her so much.

The title of Most Unexpected Ninja most certainly had to go to the Hokage and Sakura grinned as she envisioned what Naruto would do in her position – standing opposite Sasuke as he looked blankly at her, his team forming behind him.

"Where is the Kyuubi?"

Sakura sneered;

"It is no concern of you, Uchiha, whether Hokage-sama is here nor there. If I have to lay down my life to protect him then I would give it a thousand times. Mark my words Sasuke; you will not be leaving Konoha with him."

The Mangekyou swirled in Sasuke's eyes and Sakura bit her lip in anticipation. If this Uchiha were to use his Mangekyou, she knew it would be ruthless. Having never before been under any Sharingan influence excepting Kakashi's – for Itachi had never used it upon her personally – she was slightly apprehensive on the matter… but her display in strength wasn't for nothing.

Her hands were already gloved and Sakura took up a defensive position, relaxing her shoulders and staring straight ahead, emerald eyes fixed at a point just to the left of Sasuke. The training she had taken under Tsunade would not falter here and she would hate herself if she walked away for this man.

She had done it before, allowed Sasuke free entry into Konoha to look for Naruto before. Had he been with the Akatsuki then? He came openly cloaked now so there was no doubt, but how about then? If he had, and Naruto had been found properly, she would have been the one to bring damnation to Konoha and the Elemental Nations.

It was with this realisation that Sakura's resolve had hardened and her eyes glazed slightly; she would no longer be rooting for this man, Naruto would be the team member who deserved her full attention.

After all, who had been the one to leave? Sasuke.

Who had been the one to leave to train in order to keep a stupid, foolish, promise to her? Naruto.

Naruto had spent three whole years of his life – a long time for a Shinobi – training mainly for the benefit of Sakura. He had wanted Sasuke back too, that much was true, but he had made a promise.

And Uzumaki Naruto never went back on his promises. His motto was such and he had wanted to prove everyone who thought dirt about him wrong.

"It won't work, Haruno. There is nothing that can combat the gifts Itachi gave to me."

Sakura narrowed here eyes and it took a moment for realisation to dawn. Now it was clear why Sasuke was here, and wearing the Akatsuki colours, as well as openly flaunting these 'gifts' Itachi had given him.

But did this mean that Itachi was innocent? Sasuke had only expressed hatred at the mere hint of Itachi's name yet here he was, showing Sakura the things a brother had given to him, the things that he was so evidently proud of.

So, continuing with that manner, it must mean there was an ulterior motive behind the Uchiha Massacre. Had Itachi been framed? Who would have done it though; Orochimaru had no real motive and he was most likely busy at that time anyway, bargaining with the Akatsuki to get in or whatever he had done.

Sakura's eyes brightened as the mind – the mind of an intelligent woman, one that had got her recommended for intense medical courses and that allowed her to train vigorously under Tsunade – reached a stable conclusion; Itachi had to have been under orders.

Thinking about it, and remembering Tsunade's conversation with Naruto and Jiraiya a while ago, she realised that, for all of Uchiha Itachi's reputation, he had hardly caused that much damage. When they had been faced by him, Itachi had barely used much of his power and they had all just assumed he was weak from either using his Sharingan too much or from expending chakra on the sealing ceremonies.

No, it had been a completely different reason altogether. He had still been secretly allied with Konoha, keeping Sasuke from… from what? Seeking vengeance against the people who had ordered Itachi to kill his kin?

Just as she was about to open her mouth to speak, Sasuke spoke first and a slight wind picked up. Sakura pushed her hair out of her face as Sasuke's words hit her ears,

"Yes, he was under orders. It is Konoha who performed the betrayal that night."

Despite her revelation, Sakura's eyes widened at the confirmation. Suspicions were suspicions and confined to the mind. She would have never thought it had been Konoha as a whole but, then again, there was a lot to Konoha that she apparently did not know.

Itachi, the teenager who had been forced onto such a harsh path and seen as the enemy of all… had been betrayed by the very place Sakura called her safe haven, her home and love. She was part of the village, had been brought up here and would most likely either die here or fighting for Konoha and the betrayal that her home had caused sat heavily on her shoulders.

Did Naruto know? As Hokage he was bound to. But, then again, had Tsunade known? She had planned attacks against Uchiha Itachi if he was to get close enough to Konoha and that suggested that she didn't.

Yet Naruto seemed to know things, more things than anyone could expect of him. It would make sense for him to know and –

The bird. Naruto had to know; he had named the bird Itachi because he respected the man's power. What if there was another reason, that he was remembering the man and the sacrifices he had made.

Yet he had had the bird since he had stepped into Konoha, according to the women at the hospital who had seen him passing by first. If he had only just got into Konoha then how the hell had he known Itachi was as innocent? He hadn't been Hokage then either, just a simple Genin. Why had he named the bird then?

And Sakura remembered how Izumo and Kotetsu had mentioned Naruto re-entering Konoha with someone garbed in black cloths, face hidden until they questioned. It could have been a henge, especially when you considered Sai's input.

In passing one night at dinner, before he had been called to the Hokage's office regarding ROOT ad just after Naruto had been announced as Hokage, that he wondered when Naruto had slipped off to. It had only been a passing comment and Sakura hadn't taken him up on it, but it showed that Naruto had had time on the mission to – possibly – get to Itachi.

Sakura's eyes widened and she ignored Sasuke's questioning stare as the pieces seemed to fall in the only possible places; Naruto's bird, the reason it had forced Naruto to tell her its name, how Naruto hadn't named the bird anything, it already had one,

"It's It-"

"Sakura-san," a voice greeted and Sakura was cut off from finishing her sentence. Sasuke's eyes looked up to the cloaked figures as they tilted their heads slightly.

She had only seen the clothed guards as they had toured the hospital, assuring her that Naruto had authorised the act. She had been wary at first – who wouldn't be – but warmed to the guards as they had commented on the hospital's organisation. Sakura was still human at heart and she would trust her life in their hands, but she wouldn't mind accepting a choice that they had made.

"Do you need help or will you be able to hold him here until we return?"

Sakura's eyes blazed with a million questions but she nodded; they trusted her with a task – one that would most likely have a knock on effect in regards to Naruto – and she would do the task to her full limits.

Since she had taken upon the job at the hospital, Sakura had known that she would follow Naruto to the ends of the earth, even in her confused state. She had known from that point on that she would protect Naruto as any faithful Shinobi, as any friend would, but put her heart into it.

She wouldn't fail her friend and she planned to make this clear to Sasuke.

"I can hold him. Even with the Sharingan he let his Will of Fire die and is a traitor to the village he swore his life to. Konoha did nothing herself but the people within the village may have caused damage. If he intends to harm Namikaze-sama then there will be thousands of bodies on the streets of his devoted Shinobi, all of whom willingly died to save him."

Sakura's eyes hardened and, for once, her gaze met Sasuke's and she stared at him as Karasu took off, feathers merging from cloaks, and prepared herself. She saw the trio fly from Konoha and wondered where they could be headed to, before ignoring the fact. She had a fight to prepare for and knew that Sasuke (even without the cursed seal) would be able to take a lot out of her.

When they were younger, Sakura had always been the one left behind, the only one who had hesitated before they took the Chuunin exams. If not for Naruto's over confidence and Sasuke's silent, and weak, bout of confidence, she would never have entered.

It had been because of Naruto, because of Sasuke, because of her friends and the people she considered family. Sakura thanked them both; the woman was not so haughty that she would disregard past actions, for Sasuke had been a young child once, a child who had cared for his team and put everything into being part of the team – no matter how much he covered it with glared and silence.

After all, humans were sociable beings and needed to talk with one another. They needed the release of mouth and Sasuke had found his with Naruto, the playful banter that had turned icy after the Chuunin exams had, potentially, been the start of something wonderful.

Yet it was not to be, and he had run to Orochimaru like a trained dog, hurting the most precious member of Team 7 in the process.

It was in this way that Sakura knew she had matured; she would no longer place Sasuke on a pedestal unless Naruto had one that was a thousand times as high. Naruto was the reason she was strong, he was the real one who had given her self confidence and courage when all Sasuke did was reject her offers of lunch.

"I must admit that you did well to get this far into Konoha yet you have not seen anything. Naruto has grown so much in power recently that it would be a ridiculous notion to believe you were fighting his twelve year old self. If you ever pass through me, remember that Uchiha, Naruto will not treat you as he has in the past. He will not save you from whatever mess you're in now unless he has a valid reason to."

Sakura breathed in deeply and rolled her shoulders, feeling the muscles bunch up at the movement. Her eyes flickered over the area they were in; houses surrounded the wide alleyway and she could see Genin scurrying around Konoha in order to evacuate anyone who hadn't got out yet.

When the order had come, people had gathered belongings and leisurely walked to the mountains, not deeming the situation to be that dangerous. Now that the fighting had been taking place for at least half an hour, people had left their belongings on the ground, fallen after they had been dropped when lives were valued over material possessions.

Sakura risked a glance to the rooftop of the academy and saw a figure on the roof, too far to tell if it was an Akatsuki or a Konoha Shinobi. She hoped that, in the event it was one of the Akatsuki, the children had all been able to get out. There would be nothing worse than the slaughter of innocent children and Sakura knew that something as hideous as that, as criminal as the murder of innocent children, would not be beneath the Akatsuki.

If it had to be done, and stood in their way, Sakura knew that the organisation would kill all of the children in the village and that though both frightened and sickened her to the core. How could so many people be so rotten as to kill defenceless children?

Sasuke stared at Sakura and waited for her to move slightly, noticing her grip her hands into fists as if she were thinking of some horrible situation. He caught her eyes darting to the Academy and saw one of Pein's bodies resting on the roof, casually and looking so alien in the situation.

And, for a moment, he wondered if what he was doing was wrong. If Pein was going to kill the children at the Academy (here he wished that they had all escaped long ago and the path was merely looking around) then could any of his views or ideals be taken seriously?

Dismissing the thought, Sasuke allowed his hand to fly to the hilt of Kusanagi, unlatching it from the grip it had been held in for a long time. He was looking for a good fight and knew Sakura would offer something.

A light entered his eyes for a moment before he signalled to his team to leave.

"Your wish is my command."

 **Decision**

 **the act or process of deciding; determination, as of a question or doubt, by making a judgment**

 **決定**

Sakura pressed her flat palm to the cool metal of the sword as Sasuke expertly sliced it through the air, cutting through the tension between them and leaving her to snarl viciously. Flipping her body backwards to counter the momentum, Sakura looked behind her mid-flight, seeing Sasuke ready the Kusanagi once more.

They continued to dance, Sakura dodging and blocking the thrusts made by Sasuke and neither of the two really living up to their famed strengths. They had trained under the Sannin after all, and neither of them was to be taken lightly.

Sakura surveyed Sasuke critically, noticing how his movements simply flowed. She had seen many swordsmen before yet the skill her former team member possessed was beautiful. Half of the people who used swords in the world couldn't even hold the thing properly and their 'skill' was merely a cheap imitation of the real thing.

Sakura didn't doubt that Zabuza, Kisame and the other Seven Swordsmen had all be experts – still were – but their swords were large things and they were commended on their skill because the sword was personal to them. Not just anyone could use the sword efficiently

Yet with this Katana, the Kusanagi, it was a universal sword that had then been suited to Sasuke's needs. It was most likely a hand-me-down from Orochimaru, an old sword that had been coupled with his old one. Most people who had been trained in the basics of swordsmanship could wield the grass cutter, but handling it well was a different story.

The tune change suddenly when the sword was put back into it's casing, the hilt clicking as Sasuke pushed the pommel into the bindings. Sasuke's hands ran through a series of hand seals and Sakura only just managed to dodge the fireball as it hit her.

It then occurred to the pink haired woman Sasuke's tactic; he knew from past experiences that she could wear down quickly when pushed, and he would employ this thought to the battle. He would use the techniques that consumed chakra to get her out of the way and then his path would be free to get to Naruto.

She would not let him past and so had to think of a plan to escape the inevitable (because she would fail chakra-wise before Sasuke, it had always been so) and she needed to think of it quickly.

The battle around them continued yet neither of the pair paid any heed to the crumbling destruction of Konohagakure as towering animals were summoned and ran amok, a cloaked figure in the centre of them, staring ahead to the destructive path. Neither of them batted an eyelid as Katsuyu appeared, splitting her body into fragments and distributing the smaller clones to those who were in need.

Instead, Sasuke moved at a lightning speed, Sakura only dodging by a millimetre as she felt the air sweep towards her. She knew that she shouldn't remain here for much longer; that Katsuyu and Tsunade could only heal so many and she should be out here aiding them, but the promised to Karasu had been a true promise.

Summoning chakra to her hands, and thinning the layer so that it couldn't be seen, Sakura charged, fists drawn and the first blow connecting with the ground, splitting the earth into thousands of fragments. The buildings around them cracked a little as the earth split yet Sakura continued her attack; she couldn't let Sasuke have the advantage.

He was dodging easily, far too easily for Sakura to feel like she had the upper hand and Sasuke managed to slip past her, a soft chuckle escaping his lips as they passed her ear.

Sakura narrowed her eyes, ignoring the fist that was now imbedded in the wood of a nearby house. Sasuke had caused so many problems in the past years and now he had the audacity to laugh as he fought against someone she thought he had considered to be close.

"Next time, Sasuke, I'm not going to miss."

Sasuke, not believing her words, dodged a little too late, his confidence over ruling his common sense, and forcing him into a defeat, Sakura's fist smashing into his stomach. If he had been any less of a Shinobi – or an Uchiha – then the hit would have most likely crushed his internal organs and he would be dead, without a question.

But because the Sharingan had automatically seen the blow (even if his brain hadn't registered it fully) chakra had automatically blocked the blow, the stronger Uchiha chakra overpowering the true strength of the medic chakra.

By this time, Sakura was panting, almost out of breath. It would be true to say that she had put a lot into the last attack and was angry that Sasuke was such a fine Shinobi. She had known, deep down, that there had been little she could have done against him but the time had passed, she had done her job and hopefully caused a little damage.

Because she had felt a slither of chakra pass through. She had anticipated that Sasuke's chakra would block her own and so prepared needle like strands behing the initial thick layer. The needle insertions had put pressure onto her chakra, cutting through it, and a few had managed to push right into Sasuke's stomach, passing his natural defence.

Even if there was no immediate effect, there was a good chance that Sakura had started the defeat of Uchiha Sasuke and, in doing so, she knew that she could be put out of action in peace.

What she didn't anticipate, however, that Sasuke never gave third chances. Second chances were rare yet third were unheard of and he made no move to step behind her to knock her unconscious.

A crack in the nearby buildings was the earliest warning Sakura got of the falling building around her and she found her reactions dulled, too slow to move from the falling timber. The smoke cleared and, for a horrible moment, Sakura thought she had died.

Pain lanced up her arms, shoulder, and spiked in her left leg, When the dust cleared and her mind recognised the pain without all instincts shouting out, she saw how the buildings had crumpled, trapping her arms under a large beam that had fallen behind her. Her shoulders jutted out painfully and her side ached where she had fallen. Without looking, Sakura knew that her left leg was broken, and when she did look down it was evident that the bone had shattered.

Sasuke stood above her, looking down apathetically,

"I wasn;t your downfall after all, Haruno."

Sakura's lip curled as she wished to hurl thousands of insults her way, knowing it would be useless. Shifting her weight, the pain increased and she gasped, tears springing to her eyes.

"You'll thank me for this."

Sakura's eyes widened as Sasuke's eyes rotated, the Sharingan blurring to form Mangekyou and blood spilling from the left eye. Sasuke felt the heat rise from his stomach and welcomed it for once, unleashing black flames on his own command. He had never truly been able to use the fire and he felt wonderful, powerful and supreme, controlling the licking edges to the nearby buildings. They caught and Sasuke suppressed the fire, smirking as they crackled merrily.

Sakura tilted her head to look at the fire and her breath caught in her throat. She wasn't going to be allowed a third chance this time, the Amaterasu would see to that. Looking back at Sasuke, her eyes desperate and so angry that he could just leave her in his way (she was, after all, the third of his team – the true one – and they had shared so much together) she knew he had changed from the Genin she knew.

Revenge had consumed Sasuke's life in the way that the black flames of Amaterasu were consuming the dry wood. It would not stop on one thing but burn over until it destroyed everything in its path.

As Sasuke walked away, obviously heading to find Naruto, Sakura found herself praying for the one person she never would have before, the one person who would be able to help her in this situation.

Itachi, wherever you are Konoha needs you. If you dare abandon us, there will be no welcome for you; no deed can make up the betrayal you will have shown to Naruto.

And Sakura didn't really care about herself anymore; she feared for the life of her close friend, team member and – dare she say it? – brother. Her eyes turned upwards, the pain overwhelming her and dark smoke filling her lungs. The last thing she saw was the mocking faces of the Hokage and she smiled, knowing that, whatever happened, Naruto would take his place amongst them.

 **決定**

Kisame had never thought that the truth would hurt so much, especially to the one person he had shared a bond of lies with, but it did, it cut him deeper than the wounds Pein had left on his being and he couldn't stand to look the Uchiha in the eyes.

He had admitted that Pein had been the one to inflict this damage upon him but that was not the same as explaining the reasoning behind it.

Would Itachi think of his as a traitor after this?

Itachi's face wasn't as expressionless as it used to be; for one, his Sharingan remained hidden by his natural irises and his face didn't seem as strained. It was almost as it Itachi's time in Konoha had been healing for him. Here was a man who had accepted the misfortunes of his past and put them into the past, choosing to live his life with every day counting.

"Kisame," Itachi began, eyes searching the familiar face before him, and Kisame squirmed. The pain in his body had resided and the only way he knew that he would be dying shortly was the breaths that he took in. They became shallower and a little harder with each passing second and, at the same time, the guilt of what he had done weighed heavily, making the breathing so much harder.

"Why would Pein do this to you?"

Kisame swallowed and took as deep a breath as was possible. He could feel the palms of his hands sweat – which was really a miracle as he had been sure that a lot of nerves were severed on one of the assaults against him – and clenched his fists miserably, realising too late that the muscles in his arms were too torn up to allow him the simple concealing act.

Silence remained between them and Itachi shifted his weight, settling next to Kisame and propping him up a little more. He was now at a half-sitting position against a large tree and his eyes blurred in and out of focus, not quite sure if Itachi was directly next to him or a little diagonal to his side.

"He… he wanted to find out how to get into Konoha."

Itachi nodded in understanding, even though he felt that there was more to this tale. Pein was known for being hot headed in Akatsuki situations, situations where he couldn't get exactly what he wanted or when everything went wrong, but he would never act to this degree. Kisame had been a follower of the Akatsuki and Pein needed followers.

"So he looked in my head." Kisame paused and felt the air around Itachi stiffen. "Forcefully," he added slowly.

Itachi began to piece the puzzle together and now everything made sense; why he had killed the raven, why he had left Kisame here and why he had appeared so confident upon marching towards Konoha. Itachi had felt the confidence even from up in the air; it didn't take a genius to know how large of an ego the man had without the added confidence but now…

Itachi didn't like to think of Konoha's chances, of Naruto's chances.

Knowing Pein, he would twist his knowledge of everything and portray it in a way that would leave Naruto thinking that Itachi had lied. Pein would most likely tell Naruto that he had given the Akatsuki the all clear, told all of Konoha's secrets and be on the back up team.

And this thought scared Itachi. It truly scared him, an emotion he never would have admitted to having. It scared him to know that one person held so much leverage out of his life and yet loved it at the same time.

Itachi realised, with a sickening thud, that he wouldn't be as distraught if Konoha was burnt down to the ground, smoulders remaining with the carcass of a once prosperous village, but if he ever saw the lifeless body of Namikaze Naruto, even hear of his death, Itachi knew that everything, all meaning he had gained since the fight with Sasuke, would be lost; he would be lost.

"Sasuke doesn't know," Kisame continued, peering intently as Itachi's face, almost as if to gauge a reaction.

"He also thinks that… that Akatsuki are pretty decent." He stopped to cough, the weak tremors in his chest building till the cough was so powerful he choked up bile.

Itachi closed his eyes painfully; Kisame was dying, Naruto would be dying, and all he was doing was sitting here. He hated the restrictions that had been put on him by Kisame and hated the fact that he couldn't return to Konoha. He had made his path and he would walk upon it until he reached the isolated peaks, spending his remaining days doing whatever one could to survive whilst praying for death.

Was that really what he wanted? Living in such isolation, such drudgery, that he would wish for death from dawn till dusk? Uchiha Itachi, former Nin to Konohagakure no Sato, master of Sharingan, former partner to the most powerful Hokage in history, living his days wishing for death? He would be a true traitor now, having forsaken his Hokage, his village, the people who were in his ability to protect, for the simple fact that he didn't want to get involved in another war?

It wouldn't be different from any of the other wars he had experienced (it would, in all honesty, probably be slightly better because now he would experience the double blade; he could fight spectacularly as well as receive) so what was stopping him from recounting his steps?

Knowing Naruto, he would welcome Itachi back with very little to say, only that slight smile accompanied by the words 'I knew you'd come back'. That was just who Naruto was, and Itachi wished for once he could be how he wanted to be.

But, as usual, he wouldn't do what he wanted this time. Not what he really wanted, anyway. He would stay out of this war because he had decided to be selfish. Selfish in the respect that Itachi didn't want to witness people he knew get hurt, die even, instead living in a fantasy world where he simply shut the people out for good.

Because ignoring it all had to be better than seeing them die, right?

Turning his attention back to Kisame, Itachi was startled to see his eyes pinned on his face, the watery eyes never leaving the Uchiha's gaze. It occurred to Itachi that he'd been silent for a while now, thinking about his decisions, and realised that Kisame had been waiting for some sort of verdict.

"It can't be helped," he muttered and turned away. Itachi could still feel Kisame's gaze pinning him and turned his eyes back, meeting the questions inside of the orbs. Pale lips opened and a dry voice escaped, showing that Kisame was even closer to death than either of them had been aware.

"Why aren't you in Konoha?"

Itachi's heart thudded in his chest and he fought to keep his eyes from showing the shock. Kisame had unknowingly just identified the source of his discomfort and internal feelings. Maybe… just maybe if he spoke about it he would be able to rid himself of the guilt inside.

"Do not judge me for what I am about to say, Kisame, just listen. I left Naruto. I left him and Konoha even when I knew Pein was heading towards them. I left him because I wanted to be selfish and that I thought dismissing everything from thought would let everything make sense again."

Itachi paused, eyes drifting to the scene around them. The wood was pretty much dead, the fir trees that outlined the area drooping and brown. The ground was scattered with the needles that had fallen from the branches and Itachi scooped a handful of them into his palm, not noticing the slight pin-pricks as the tips of the leaves pressed into his skin. He allowed them to fall through his fingers and his eyes softened.

"I had to leave. I couldn't have stayed…"

To Kisame, it sounded as if Itachi was trying to convince himself, and he realised the man most likely was. He coughed again, this time the bile taking a shorter time to reach the surface. His breathing was becoming heavier and the beat of his heart becoming slower, the blood thicker and his brain lighter. Still, even with this amount of damage, Kisame would make sure to redeem himself for the betrayal he had caused Itachi.

"Go back."

Itachi's startled face looked at him, the needles falling from his hands completely. Kisame's eye contact never wavered and he looked solidly into ebony eyes.

"Naruto needs you now, Konoha needs you. You're a fool if you think running from your problems is going to solve anything."

Itachi suddenly seemed so young, so innocent and so lost. Kisame would have embraced him if it had not been for the fact he was injured and useless; it hurt to see Itachi so lost.

Itachi had been the one out of the two of them who had always been organised, always with his feet on the ground and with a plan. He had been the strategist of the team and thought every angle through. For once, the Uchiha's logic had failed him and it was Kisame that was left to organise his thoughts.

"He offered you safety, redemption for all that you had done and salvation for your sins. I have never been a religious man, Itachi and you know that, but to be offered such a chance of salvation in the way Naruto offered it to you…" Kisame paused and a weak laugh escaped his throat.

"You'll end up in my position. I turned down your offer and look where it got me." He took in a deep breath, feeling the life ebbing from him. These words would be his last so he smiled slightly, content that they would tilt Itachi in Konoha's direction.

"It would be a waste of talent anyway, kid, and we all know what we think of people who waste their talent." He smiled fully, eyes crinkling for the first time in years. "Tell Naruto I said hi."

Itachi felt his former partner shudder as his last breath echoed in his empty lungs and turned to him, holding an arm in each hand.

"Kisame?"

Upon receiving no answer, Itachi pressed a hand to Kisame's jugular, knowing full well that it was useless. The older Nin was gone, another number to the amount of people Pein had killed. It was almost as if coming here had only brought more torment to Itachi's thoughts; another person he knew dead and gone.

But at the same time, Itachi was glad. Glad that Kisame had seen through the turmoil of his thoughts and plucked out the right points to place the decision firmly into his mind. Before, Itachi wouldn't have even swayed knowing someone else wanted him to go back yet now that Kisame had called him a fool (after the amount of times Itachi had muttered it when the sword wielder had charged in without any plans) and spent his last breath on telling Itachi to go back to Konoha…

Added to the fact that Itachi now had to tell Naruto that Kisame said hi, he couldn't deny the man his 'dying wish' after all.

Closing his eyes firmly and releasing Kisame's body, Itachi stood up gracefully, the hood to his cloak pooling around his shoulders. The Sharingan flared to life in his eyes and a venomous smirk played across his lips.

Turning his attention to the presences he felt nearing the nearest trees, he turned his body. Almost predictably, three ravens perched on the branches, beady eyes letting Itachi know that they knew what he had decided.

"It seems our efforts were wasted, Itachi-denka. We had hoped that we would be the ones to convince you but it seems that Hoshigaki-san beat us to it. Still, we offer you the position our leader left for you. He died with the knowledge that you would return to us and had to offer the position… do you accept Uchiha Itachi?"

Itachi cast his mind back to the moment he had talked with the elder ravens about the order of their clans and was taught the leadership processes; not just anyone could become a leader of a unit. You had to prove yourself and be chosen as a successor. It was an honour to even be considered, let alone accepted by the rest of the unit.

"Thank you," and with a tilt of his head, the other members of Karasu gathered around Itachi, waiting for the newest orders.

Karasu had promised that they would send four ravens, four warriors, to fight for Naruto and they had kept their promise. Uchiha Itachi fronted the diamond foundation as they swooped through Konoha, the atmosphere very different to the one he had flown out on.

Let there be time, he secretly prayed, let Naruto be okay and let the wind carry us there as quickly as possible.

And, true to Kisame's words, Itachi knew without a doubt that he had been a fool to leave Konoha.

 **決定**

Naruto heard the door to his office open and wasn't surprised to see Tsunade there, a confident but worried look on her face. Naruto half turned away from the window, watching Katsuyu split into thousands of smaller clones and hurrying over Konoha.

"I wish to aid Katsuyu heal those injured. The teams working on the evidence Jiraiya collected have relocated and their wish was for me to aid Konoha in other ways. This is the most productive but I needed your input first, Naruto."

Naruto looked at her and nodded blankly.

"Permission granted, save as many as you can."

Tsunade gave Naruto an odd look before closing her eyes with a sigh.

"You remind me of Minato the same day he sealed the Kyuubi. He stood there, watching Konoha as she fell and waiting for the doctors to confirm that you were coming. It took almost half a day, Naruto, for Kushina to get you out but Minato was there. He watched the destruction of his village, the birth of his son and then the dawning of a new hope."

Naruto's eyes were soft, regretting that his parents were dead, that he couldn't see them once, as he listened to Tsunade's speech. Another crash outside alerted them to another damage being racked upon Konoha yet Tsunade made no move to hurry the story.

"Don't be like Minato."

Without anything else to say, Tsunade left the room. Naruto's eyes returned to the window, his top lip scrunched in anger.

What right did Tsunade have to tell him not to follow in his father's footsteps? It was what children were always told to do, the ideal thing to do. Follow in your father's footsteps and everything will work out for you.

Why was he always the exempt one from the rules? He couldn't sacrifice himself for Konoha now, unless he was destroying the Kyuubi in which there probably would be no Konoha, and he couldn't defend her to his full ability simply because, no matter what anyone said, he wasn't as strong as the whole of Akatsuki.

There was a thin line between being confident in your abilities and being overly confident. Naruto knew that he could defeat Pein, or at least give him a bloody good run for his money. But what he knew he could not do was take on the whole of the Akatsuki while protecting the village, recuperating after the attacks and then fending off Madara.

It was only a matter of time and Naruto felt as though he was losing some kind of sick game, as though he was stuck in a sand timer and his end was filling up, each granule hitting as another Shinobi was killed on his behalf.

Three minutes passed – Naruto knew that for a fact because he had been counting the seconds – before the door opened quietly.

"I never thought you would be the type to have a composed and normal entry."

Naruto turned to see the man who had been plaguing his mind for so long and met his smirk;

"It seems there is a lot about me that you do not know then, Naruto, and you will be coming with me by the end of this day."

Naruto stepped away from the window; eyes never leaving steely grey lined orbs, and took his seat behind the desk. It placed distance between them, showed Pein that he wasn't afraid to move and challenge the authority, and also reminded the orange haired male of who exactly he was dealing with.

"What makes you think that I will come willingly?"

Pein's eyes darted out of the window and he smirked ferally. His teeth glinted in the light from the window and Naruto laced his fingers together in thought.

Now that he could see the man, Naruto wondered what set him above the rest. He had the legendary Rinnegan, yes, but he had to have been a normal person at one point. A normal person with an abnormal story. Risking the titbits of information he knew, Naruto stuck out his neck.

"You were an orphan too weren't you?" Seeing that he had captured the attention of his adversary, Naruto continued calmly, pushing away the adrenaline coursing through his veins and the excitement of the upcoming battle.

"Sometimes I wonder; if I hadn't accepted Konoha, could I be like you? In all reality, I could have; we both belonged to villages that hated us for circumstances out of our control and we both seek acknowledgement. I wanted to be a Hokage and you claim to be a God. Does that set us so apart?"

Naruto chose not to react as Pein stepped closer, keeping eye contact the whole time he moved.

"You can never be as high as a god. You're just a beast that deserves whatever treatment it gets and Konoha is a foolish village for allowing a demon possession."

Naruto shrugged, unfazed by the comment. He had heard all the names a thousand times and knew that attitudes changed, people changed.

"You never did answer my question."

Pein smirked and Naruto felt his blood chill; had he missed something?

"The question is, how much do you value the lives of children, Naruto?"

Naruto's eys widened and his eyes shot out the window to where one of the paths stood on the tilted Academy roof. Pein tutted softly and the path on the roof vanished, only to reappear with a child in his grasp.

"It appears not all of them were able to make it out Naruto… you would be a terrible Hokage if you let the blood of innocent children stain the streets so soon after you acquired the position."

Pein smirked once more, stepping until he was whispering in the frozen Hokage's ear,

"So what will it be? The innocent lives of those who have a future or your own miserable existence? The children or the Kyuubi?"

 **Action**

 **an act that one consciously wills and that may be characterized by physical or mental activity**

 **行動**

"Let me tell you something, Naruto. I do not wish for you to interrupt me, this will only take a moment of your time." The fox paused and looked out onto the empty halls, eyes searching for where his previous comrades would have been seated.

"Uchiha Madara cursed my chakra and bent it towards the Uchiha clan."

Naruto waited, knowing this already. He knew that when Madara had first met the Kyuubi the Uchiha had wanted the power of the fox, even going to the lengths to attempt and subdue the Kyuubi with his own chakra. It was this chakra that influenced the Kyuubi; it was a basic that the Kyuubi had taught Naruto a long while ago.

"What you may not know, though, is that he placed restrictions upon me. The Bijuu, if ordered to correctly, would heal anyone with chakra belonging to a specific clan. It just so happened that Madara forced my chakra into an agreement that would enable my chakra to automatically heal a wounded Uchiha."

The fox seemed to sigh, his eye closing as he explained further,

"He wanted to be invincible, using even me as a resource. I was to wreak destruction but I would also heal any wounds of his clan even if I hadn't wanted to. I was bound specifically to Madara, so that my powers would only heal him, until the night I attacked you where I was able to overrule the orders put on me."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, the questions forming in his mind.

"I told you not to speak, Naruto. I can see your questions just fine, there's no need to bring unnecessary noise here. Your body had not matured until you had reached sixteen years, when the seal would begin to allow my chakra a lenient rein. It was only once you had reached that age that I was under contract again to heal an Uchiha if it ever arose."

Blue eyes widened at a memory, red sparks crackling merrily as they met alabaster skin.

"Yes, Itachi was the first Uchiha to be at my calling since Madara. I'll have you know that I've accepted him."

Naruto frowned in confusion as the Kyuubi shifted, a deep groan escaping his maw.

"The bones grow old after a while, I'm afraid my joints are a little rusty." An eye poked open and it looked down at the Jinchuuriki in amusement, "Itachi is the only Uchiha my chakra will respond to. He's the only other person aside from you who can claim that honour."

The true implication of what the fox meant sunk into Naruto's mind; Madara's corruption forced the Kyuubi to serve the Uchiha clan if he wasn't bonded to a specific member. Since the sealing, the Kyuubi had been free of servitude to Madara yet had chosen to pledge his chakra to Itachi.

"T-thank you."

The Kyuubi turned his snout into the air, a twitch in his lip, but Naruto saw the slight curl of the black lips. He knew that the fox was contented with just those two words and it made Naruto's heart break to know that he'd have to choose between killing this creature and saving the world one day.

Because he knew, without a doubt, that the Kyuubi's blood would stain his hands long before he allowed his home to crash around them.

Even the Kyuubi knew it.

 **行動**

Pein looked from the window and into Naruto's eyes, a vicious smirk on his face.

"Come on, Hokage-sama, I haven't got all day." His voice was laden with a mocking tone, coaxing the leader of this pitiful nation to the bait.

Blue eyes turned to Pein and the man resisted the urge to flinch. The amount of emotion shown in those two orbs was more shocking than a lot of things Pein had seen. Recovering and plastering the taunting face back on, Pein opened his arms, palms facing Naruto.

"I know what you want to choose, Naruto, and the children don't deserve the alternative fate… yet I cannot help but point out that humans are selfish. I'm selfish, you're selfish, the Uchiha clan is certainly selfish… and I know that you'll keep the Kyuubi to yourself.

"Can you bear to watch the children die in front of your eyes? Of course you can, as long as you keep the power that the fox offers." Pein paused, looking back out to the Academy roof where the child was struggling against the villain holding him.

"We're all monsters, Naruto, so why should we bother changing facts now? You're just like me, underneath everything. If you weren't a Jinchuuriki then I could see everything I have reflected in you… as it is, you're a beast but at the very heart we are one. Monsters and Gods should never pair up together but Gods and Demons… well that is a different matter entirely."

Looking directly into Naruto's eyes, Pein's face tightened and his eyes drew on a seriousness that sent shivers up the blonde's spine.

"A God needs servants, Naruto. I'm sure Madara would be willing to place you in a seat of power, we don't have to extract the Kyuubi. The Hachibi can be caught first and you could have the chance for power." A dark chuckle emitted from Pein's mouth, "You could be the saviour of the New World."

The window shattered behind him as Naruto slammed a fist into it, a million fragments glittering to the floor. A cascade of tears fell down to the ground outside, shimmering in their uselessness, and Naruto turned away from Pein.

"I'm not like you. You come here with words of torture yet every report says you are a man of few words… and no regrets. You have already proven one of these points incorrect and I can only say that the latter will be proven incorrect as well." Naruto's head turned upwards and he closed his eyes, inhaling deeply.

"You'll regret the day you ever set foot in Konoha, and you'll regret the day you told the Jinchuuriki to the Kyuubi no Kitsune that he is the same as you. Gods and Demons have no place on this land, Pein, and I claim to be neither. I am simply a man, one who will honour his village until the day he dies."

Naruto could sense the confusion after his words and turned with a smile on his face. To Pein, the smile looked so confident, so true and full of emotion, that something struck him; this Jinchuuriki was a man, one who cared for his village.

This Jinchuuriki had a reason, just like he did, yet was undeserving. He may be a man, but he was a tainted man. Naruto had been bonded with the Kyuubi since birth, had grown up with a fox inside of him. He couldn't be considered, after all, how many times had Naruto's blood been healed with the red chakra? Certainly enough to taint a normal human.

This man was a threat to Pein, a stain on his sheet and an annoyance that would – he realised now – be easy to take down.

"You can take me. The Kyuubi will fall to your possession and you will leave Konoha alone."

Pein nodded, a smirk in place.

"Then it is a deal. I will leave Konoha alone."

The phrase he had used unsettled Naruto yet he shook his head at the thought, allowing his eyes to confirm the release of the child. Once the Path had abandoned the roof, Naruto turned, shrugging his cloak higher onto his shoulders.

Pein allowed Naruto to step before him and placed a hand around the Jinchuuriki to open the door. Even if Naruto was coming with him now, he knew that there would be an extortionate battle between them once they stepped as far away from Konoha had decided.

Oh yes, Naruto may have surrendered inside of Konoha but once they were on the way to Madara, all bets were off and the Hokage would unleash whatever power gave him the title.

 **行動**

Flying was harder when you were making haste, and with a direct route. Branches seemed to leap out at you from nowhere, even with the advanced sight of a bird. Itachi swooped often, the birds behind him following him in dodging various wooden appendages.

A caw sounded behind him from the raven at the back and Itachi suck lower, moving down to the lower canopies and then further down. They had almost reached Konoha now and all four of them were anticipating the return. What had happened while they had been away?

It was four human bodies that entered into Konoha, with Itachi at the front. Their passage through the gate was simple; all guards had been dispatched one way or another and there was no one else to stop them.

Itachi closed his eyes, dismissing the other three of the group to help anyone in need. They did not hesitate at his order, one remaining behind to look carefully into Itachi's eyes. In the dark glimmer from the cloak – the eye of a face he had never seen – Itachi saw the reflection of his flames, the fire he had given to Sasuke.

"Amaterasu…"

Oh how Sasuke had abused the flames, the fire that was created to protect Konoha. Itachi had bargained with the Sun Goddess to allow him – a simply Shinobi, regardless of his clan – usage of her fire. She had stared at him, eyes calculating what he would do if such a technique was gifted to him and deemed him worthy.

He was unworthy; Sasuke, his brother, his only kin, had defiled the technique and Itachi, one who never regretted anything in regards to Sasuke, regretted giving him the fire.

He flew, not literally, but running faster than he could have flown. The cloak around his body fluttered and he jumped over a crumbling house, down into an alley, and landed with his feet splayed out, hood on the verge of revealing his features yet his heart beating wildly.

Itachi scanned the scene, Sharingan swirling for any hint of human life in the mess of wood and fire. There was one, a weak chakra that should have been stronger. Stepping forward, Itachi knew what he had to do.

As he could not see the person, he would have to clear the fire before they could be rescued. The only way he could tame the fire would be to use the Mangekyou, something he hadn't done since the day he died.

Summoning up the courage he had never expected to need since that night, the night where his family's blood had run dry by his own hand, and closed his eyes.

A burning formed in his stomach before a twitch in his eyes revealed that the Mastered Sharingan had been activated and, instantly, a cool sensation dwelled over the heat, blocking its passage.

"Amaterasu," he whispered as eyelids fluttered open. He would quell the flames here, it was something that, honestly, only he could do.

Itachi's eyes began to strain under the pressure of controlling a God's power yet he held firm, willingly allowing the fire to flow through his system before it fizzled out. There was one consolation in this way; whatever power Sasuke had put into the flames would now be absorbed into Itachi.

"Only a little longer…"

His voice was strained yet he couldn't hold it in his head any longer. The overwhelming power of the flames was threatening to overcome him, melting Itachi's very core. It took only a switch in position, a position of the mind as he imagined Naruto's face on the mountain, before the flames finally gave in to the chosen master.

Panting, Itachi could now see the fill damage. Charcoal was all that was left of most of the building and he walked slowly up to the debris left, regaining strength as he neared the target.

The first thing to grab his attention was the woman lying face up in the rubble, a huge piece of timber covering her leg. Her hair was matted and dirty; full of smoke, and Itachi knew she had to have inhaled a lot of smoke. Even if the Amaterasu flames were divine, they were still a type of fire, and fire gives off smoke.

Pushing hair away from the face of the unfortunate soul, Itachi was surprised, initially, to see Sakura. It made sense, really; the only person aside from Naruto who Sasuke would fight using such a technique…

It was a dirty death. Death by a full blow, such as a Jutsu that took immediate effect or a blade would be honourable, respectable. This death, as with poisons, was hardly a ninja's death. She had now claimed any true victory if she had died, Sasuke had sold Sakura out and Itachi closed his eyes wearily.

Sasuke had learnt nothing.

The shuffle of dirt underneath a moving body alerted Itachi to an intruder and he looked over his shoulder, nodding to the Katsuyu clone as she waited patiently. Once he got Sakura free of this mess, he would search for Sasuke, not Naruto, and stop his brother from destroying everything he had ever done.

Naruto was strong enough to deal with Pein on his own, even if they did not take the chance to fight inside of Konoha. Sasuke, however, was unstable, unsure and most likely confused.

Just as Naruto had saved his tainted soul, Itachi would attempt to save Sasuke's.

For what was family for if they couldn't knock sense into one another?

 **行動**

Sasuke wandered through the rubble, eyes casting around him for damage. There were people on the streets – almost all of them Shinobi that had fallen against Pein, Karin or Suigetsu – and he ignored their cries for help.

Pitiful.

Unsure of whether the voice was meaning the people on the ground or Sasuke himself, he ignored it, stepping over an abandoned arm with his head held high and his path set for the Hokage Tower.

Pein and Naruto would be there and there was no way he was letting the man get his claws into Naruto alone. He would fight to regain his place in the Akatsuki (the place that had slipped at the failure the Hachibi had caused him) and win Madara over. The closer he got to Madara, the closer he got to revenge.

Stepping through the debris of a building – the old stand him and his team used to go for ice cream in the good old days, the one with the old lady who always asked how you were, no matter the weather – and continued onwards, passing the broken body of one of the Paths.

Not stopping to identify the particular Path, Sasuke stooped low in the rubble suddenly, his eyes fixed on the mop of hair sticking out from the ground.

How ironic… how many years ago was it that Kakashi had buried him under the earth? It must have been when they had been training for the bells, three years ago now. How ironic it was to see Kakashi as the one buried, while Sasuke was standing over him.

In a moment of curiosity, Sasuke placed two fingers to Kakashi's neck, snatching them back as if the Jounin had burnt his fingers when he felt the weak pulse. A huge slug slithered slowly over to them, looking at Sasuke curiously with beady eyes before attaching her body to Kakashi.

Sasuke reckoned that the Jounin could be saved; it was just a bit of chakra exhaustion and, even if there were internal injuries, they would be healed by Tsunade's summon.

Continuing his path, Sasuke entered the Hokage tower slowly, making his way up to the highest point slowly and carefully. He didn't worry about being seen; he could fight and would most likely defeat half of Konoha in one swoop.

Stepping closer to the wooden door that separated the Hokage's office from the outside world, Sasuke's heart was in his mouth. He was not nervous about this, not at all. He was simply anxious as to see Naruto after so long… to have the Hokage see him as this.

But why should he be ashamed of Naruto looking at him now? He had nothing to be ashamed of, least of all his actions. He had decided what to do according to Itachi's death and wished, and it was clear that Naruto could never understand that. He didn't even know that Itachi was innocent.

He couldn't let Pein have all the fame anyway.

He stepped back in surprise as the handle shifted in his palm and the door opened. Pein rose an eyebrow before smirking, Naruto in front of his chest placidly, a troubled look on his face. Pein circled around Naruto, leading the blond away from the room much like a master would with a dog.

"I never thought you would be like a dog following its master, Dobe."

Naruto didn't even glare, instead a small, placid smile found its way onto his lips. Pein glared at Sasuke and they stalked off, silence reigning between them.

Contrary to his words, Sasuke followed them like a dog, head tilted slightly as he tried to figure out how the Akatsuki member had managed to get Naruto to follow him so calmly. The Naruto he knew would have made so much fuss that capturing him would have been a chore once he opened his mouth.

Yet now Naruto hadn't even rebuked to his taunt.

"It's called maturity Sasuke. You'll learn about it later in life. On that note, how did you manage to enter Konoha so swiftly? My border patrol only noticed one body enter high up into the system… a Kuchiyose perhaps?"

Sasuke saw Pein's hand twitch slightly and Naruto smiled a little, knowing that he had hit the nail on his head. The next words, however, caused the blond to pale slightly and Sasuke wondered, yet again, how much he had missed with Naruto. He always just assumed that the man would never change.

"Not quite… your former partner was very complacent with our needs. Did he tell you that he'd go into seclusion? You know how loyal he is once he is on the path… seems like Konoha is second best."

Naruto clenched his fist and snarled out the next answer.

"I'm surprised you didn't kill him instead of asking for his help, it's generally what you do to people who don't comply with your needs. Take Konan for example… wasn't she your old partner? And where is she now? Does Sasuke even know about that?"

Naruto turned to Sasuke with a questioning glance and Pein shrugged.

"Or does Madara want to lure him in with stupid fantasies? Wake up, Sasuke-chan, the Akatsuki aren't nice. The woman I was talking about, Konan, was murdered by none other than the man you see before you."

Sasuke glanced at Pein before catching the look in the Rinnegan master's eyes and shrugging.

"It doesn't matter."

Naruto sighed and the trio kept walking. It was a few minutes before Sasuke felt a tremendous pain tear through his gut and he gasped, falling to his knees. Naruto looked on with a blank face yet Pein scowled.

"She must have hit me harder than I thought."

Naruto didn't have to ask who it was that had hit him. The only person in Konoha besides himself who would go up against Uchiha Sasuke would be Sakura. He prayed that she was still alive.

In an odd way, though, he was proud of Sakura. Not many people could boast that they had caused lasting damage to any Uchiha, let alone Sasuke. Even if it had cost her life, Naruto was proud of the woman Sakura had become.

"What have you done to the Kyuubi?"

Sasuke looked up at Pein as he spoke and Naruto tilted his head.

"I don't know what you mean."

Growling, Pein grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and pushed him against the wall,

"You know damned well what I'm talking about. The Kyuubi… why isn't it healing him? Madara informed me that once you were sixteen years the chakra would leak to heal an Uchiha automatically because of the confines he put onto the fox when they were in contact. Unless you-" Pein stopped suddenly, his eyes slightly wider than normal, the closest to shock he would ever be.

"You… and… you…"

Naruto gave a soft grin and Sasuke's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"The Kyuubi accepted him?"

Sasuke didn't understand what the hell the pair was talking about but for the Kyuubi to accept anything, well it had to be something big. The fox was known for being fierce; a demon even to its container, and Sasuke could never see the beast bowing down to anything, or anyone.

"Funny that isn't it? Madara couldn't get the fox to accept him any way but forcefully yet it was the Kyuubi who chose this bonding."

Pein curled his lip as he held back the anger, remembering the 'deal' he had made with Naruto. Even if he would be attacking the man later, it would be stupid to break this small promise. He would leave Konoha for now or risk losing the Kyuubi for good.

Instead they walked on, Sasuke holding his hand against his stomach and wondering what damage could have been inflicted to it. More importantly was how, though. How had Sakura managed to beat him? At least he had the consolation that she would be dead soon, burnt to a crisp by the undying flames of Amaterasu.

"So, Sasuke, why did you enter the Akatsuki anyway? Was it their manly charms that attracted you after being with the feeble Sannin? Or was it just the cloak? I have to admit, it does look rather fetching on you. Did anyone mention that at all at Orochimaru's? Black suits you."

Pein couldn't hide the smirk that rose to his lips at the man's words; id there was one thing he could accept, that was Sasuke-teasing. Sasuke was a child, insignificant and an annoyance. Naruto, at least, had the balls to insult the Akatsuki, knowing full well that he was a monster, and even attempt a stand-by with him.

"I entered because I wanted to honour the promise I made to my brother."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, waiting for the denial of that statement, saying that Itachi was a murderer and the cause for all of this, yet Naruto's face was contemplative, eyes staring ahead.

"You know, just because four people in Konoha betrayed your brother, it doesn't give you the right to destroy the village. The Sandaime's dead, Danzou is dead and the Advisors will be dead in the next few years, have you seen how old they are, so why don't you just give up now Sasuke. Itachi wanted peace. It was why he did what he did…" Naruto paused and his eyes met Sasuke's, "I'm just wasting words now aren't I? I see you've set your mind on something but just let this sink in, humour an old friend's words."

Pein's eyes darted between the two as Naruto stepped forwards, his mouth hovering by Sasuke's ear and his arm around the Uchiha's shoulder. It was now that Naruto realised just how different the two brothers were; this one was lost, very much unlike Itachi.

"Itachi wouldn't be here in the way you are now."

Drawing back, Naruto nodded in seriousness, stepping out of the Hokage Tower and into the battleground that was Konoha. Glass cracked round his feet as he stepped through the mess the shattered window had caused, smiling. The smile faded, however, when he saw the black lilt of the Amaterasu.

"Do you like my little gift," Sasuke said as he stepped out to join Naruto. Pein passed them by silently, stopping a little way off.

"It was my gift to Sakura."

Naruto's eyes widened and he took a step towards the flames, only to be stopped with a hand clamping around his.

"We fight outside of the village Naruto. Whatever happens here now is not your decision, you are not bound to this village anymore."

Naruto's eyes reflected the black, curling flames as he looked up to the sky, remembering how Itachi and himself had reminded the Deity that Sasuke would not defile her technique.

Ignoring the incredulous looks from Sasuke and Pein, Naruto dropped to his knees, placing his hands together.

"Forgive our words, for they have proved incorrect. Watch over your flames, Amaterasu-Omi-Kami, and forgive the fools who entrusted others with something so sacred."

Three eyes widened in surprise as, when Naruto rose, the flames ceased. Pein chuckled darkly, commenting on how it was yet another failure, Sasuke pondering on Naruto's words and Naruto…

Naruto knew that Itachi had returned.

 **Eye**

 **The organ of sight**

 **目**

Itachi walked patiently beside the clone of Katsuyu, studying Sakura's body as she lay unconscious on the slug. He guessed that Tsunade had wanted her to be taken directly to where she was so that she could fix Sakura up and that, in turn, would lead to Sakura being able to help others as she was the only competition that Tsunade would face in the field.

They arrived at one of the sub units to the interrogation area, a little way away from where Itachi knew the decoding team would be working. Katsuyu followed the trail of chakra that no doubt connected her to Tsunade and they finally turned into a room, Tsunade seated in the centre with four ANBU delegates around her.

"Dismissed," she said quietly yet one ANBU moved to speak, protesting at such an action and pointing out the stranger.

"He is Naruto's personal guard and I need to speak with him privately. I'm afraid that anything you heard, if you remained here, would result in your death and I am rather fond of the four of you."

The ANBU stiffened and Itachi could tell that their faces were blanched. Little did he know that Naruto had refused the very same ANBU, claiming that he already had a guard set up for him, and that they were more powerful and efficient than the ANBU cell could be, seeing as the ANBU had been thrown together in the last seconds before splitting the units off to aid against the Akatsuki.

They left with the promises of remaining outside the room, closing the door regretfully. Tsunade knew that they didn't trust Itachi but they had little else to do but obey her orders, she was the former Hokage after all.

"I see that you have returned then," she began stiffly, rising from her place in the centre of the room and sighing deeply. Tsunade walked over to the nearby table and took a biscuit from the surface, eating it quickly.

"I found Sakura amongst the Amaterasu that Sasuke had used and I plan to show him that not all actions need be used violently. It is clear that he blames Konoha and I can no longer allow him to abuse the powers that I worked hard for."

Tsunade's face was blank and Itachi lowered his eyes, knowing the silent question. Instead of remaining silent, he answered aloud;

"Naruto means more to me than Konoha and Sasuke would destroy him too if he felt it would achieve his goals. Naruto lives for Konoha and would not allow Sasuke to harm his village in any way."

Tsunade nodded, evidently happy with the answer that Itachi had spoken, and a wry grin overcame her lips,

"Konoha isn't all that he lives for, Itachi. You should know that. You know that Naruto doesn't display his emotions so readily and for him to willingly consummate the relationship between yourselves – oh come on, you don't think that I know when a relationship has changed? Think of my former team members – is a big step. Although he is unsure of what exactly love pertains, I think that our Naruto could just share his love for Konoha with an even greater love for Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi's eyes looked into Tsunade's and he shook his head a little,

"He doesn't deserve me. Do you need my help with Sakura?"

Tsunade nodded,

"I want you to be here when she wakes up to explain just how she got out of that mess. If you have to tell her the truth of your identity then so be it… if you want a true relationship with the Hokage then you better become accepting of being known again. Naruto is loved for who he is and you could be, if people knew the sacrifices you have made."

Itachi remained silent and still as Katsuyu allowed Tsunade to take Sakura from her, vanishing in a puff of smoke. Tsunade worked quickly to clear Sakura's lungs and sent her chakra to the medic's leg, not bothering to splint the leg straight first.

Her skill was so precise that Itachi watched in amazement as Sakura's body healed. Tsunade caught his look and spoke while she worked;

"Sakura's body is adapted to medical chakra anyway so it's just a case of allowing mine to heal what has been waiting to have the go ahead from her. In a way, her body heals itself and if she placed a seal such as the Genesis deal upon herself then she would most likely be fine by now. As it is, she has chosen the better option and decided against the seal… for now at least. She should be conscious in a few minutes."

Itachi waited until Tsunade's hands removed themselves from Sakura's body and she nodded in satisfaction.

"She'll be awake in a moment. Then you can handle all the questions she asks. I'm returning to the chakra circle for now, good luck."

Itachi's eyes followed Tsunade as she seated herself back in the centre of the room, hands forming a seal before her chakra flared. His eyes lingered a moment longer before he heard a change in Sakura's breathing pattern and looked down to see her eyes focusing on him.

Itachi knew that there would be some explaining he needed to do, as well as revealing that he was the bird… and how exactly everything had come to play. The first words out of Sakura's mouth, however, startled him into silence;

"Itachi, it's about time."

Even Tsunade looked up, her eyes wide in surprise. Sakura tested her leg, stretching the muscles out and dodging eye contact of the two shocked Shinobi. She nodded to herself, said her thanks to Tsunade, before emerald eyes finally looked into the dark confusion that plagued Itachi.

"I figured it out when Sasuke told me that you were innocent. Izumo and Kotetsu had told me that after we tried to find Sasuke, Naruto came back a little later than the rest of us… even when they hadn't seen him leave and no log had been made."

Sakura took a deep breath and Itachi glanced to Tsunade who sat with her bottom lip between her teeth. She glanced down at the ground before admitting,

"The Advisors wanted to keep Naruto here for good and I denied their whims. Instead they settled for tracking his entry and exit, in case anything should happen."

Itachi felt the heat of the Sharingan settle in his eyes as he realised that the very people who were part of manipulating him had wanted to do the same to Naruto. Instead of showing the emotion aggressively, however, Itachi put it away, storing it for a time when he could convert it into something useful.

"You were the bird weren't you? That's why you made Naruto call you Itachi… but you were dead. We had enough confirmation to say you were dead. What did Naruto do?"

Sakura's eyes were wide and Itachi pushed the hood down from his head, revealing his features to the room. He could see Sakura's eyes searching his face, no doubt comparing it to ANBU or Akatsuki pictures she had seen of him, aware that his face had softened now he was back home and wondered exactly how different he looked.

"It's not just a case of what Naruto did, the Kyuubi intervened."

The room's light darkened as Tsunade cut her chakra again, moving over to the pair. Itachi watched as she took another biscuit, rubbing her eye with one hand, and looked intently at the Uchiha.

"Do you know what that means, Itachi? I would have told you before but I remember saying that I didn't want to know how you came to be alive… Did Madara tell you anything about the habits of the Kyuubi?"

Itachi shook his head, feeling useless. It was a novel concept; it was always the world that had felt useless around Itachi. Here was something he not only didn't know, but had never thought about knowing.

"The Kyuubi is bound to your clan, I'm sure you guessed that from Madara's infatuation with the power the fox brings. The Kyuubi's chakra would respond to Madara – I have read accounts from the Shodai Hokage that muse upon this. Hashirama mentioned that the Kyuubi had been bonded to Madara, forcibly, and that the fox would have no choice but to serve that single Uchiha, rather than the clan itself."

Itachi nodded, eyes focused on the Godaime and drinking the information in.

"Somewhere along the line, most likely when the Kyuubi was sealed into Naruto, this connection was lost and it had only just been allowed to resurface. This time, however, there were two minds that could control who bonded to the chakra – the Kyuubi's and Naruto's. This meant that they both had to be in agreement and that the person they bonded to, or more correctly the Uchiha they bonded to, would have to be in a position where both of them wanted to help."

A light appeared in Itachi's head as he put two and two together;

"So the Kyuubi bonded itself… or its chakra to me? And Naruto was in agreement?"

Tsunade nodded, wiping the crumbs from the corners of her lips.

"As I said before, you mean more to him than you think. Now that Sakura's healed I think you should go show him how much you care."

Itachi nodded, pulling the hood back up. Just as he was about to leave, Tsunade called after him,

"Sakura will be accompanying you until you reach the hospital. Pass by the interrogation unit to see if they have uncovered any more leads too, we need every single upper hand that we can get against your former organisation."

Itachi nodded and Sakura stepped beside him, her face betraying none of the internal thoughts that had to be running through her head. Itachi respected her for that; it had to be tiring; facing against your former team member, having them leave you to die and then finding out one of the people you were never supposed to even think about fighting (for he had run on sight orders) was now on her side.

They walked from the room, passing the ANBU and informing them that Tsunade would accept them back. Sakura bowed to the team and, before Itachi bowed, they tilted their bodies to him. It was a gesture that showed Itachi as higher in rank than them – which, if he had been reinstated, he would be. Because here he was just Itachi, everything fell out of place for the briefest of moments. Sakura nudged him hesitantly and Itachi nodded his head, accepting the standard they had placed upon him.

"Why did they show so much respect?"

Sakura scoffed,

"What, you don't get it? They were sent from the room with assurances that you would be able to protect someone as important to Konoha as Tsunade. Without your skill being higher than theirs, Tsunade would never have suggested it… no matter who you were. They respect you because you won Tsunade's assurances and I'm sure she told them something about Naruto being your charge. Naruto refused that team as his guard, you know."

Itachi looked to Sakura and shook his head, his mouth opening to speak.

"Naruto said he already had a team, you know, the freaky team who go around in cloaks?"

A chuckle slipped from Itachi's throat before he could stop it and Sakura's mood lightened. The Uchiha had shown an emotion she was unfamiliar with from Sasuke, shown her that he was comfortable enough to enjoy the peace between them and so Sakura would reciprocate the favour.

"I lead that team now."

It was Sakura's turn to chuckle and she felt Itachi turn to her, questions brewing. In her head he made the perfect captain for the team she dubbed as freaky. Itachi was shrouded in such mystery that he deserved a sub name; Itachi the freaky.

Of course, Sakura would never say this to the Uchiha on fear of being glared to death. After all, even if Itachi was on their side now, she wouldn't want to cause any offence and Itachi would give as much as he got.

And it just so happened that he was of a much higher level than she.

Turning left, they came face to face with the door to the interrogation unit and Sakura wasted no time in entering, nodding to the assembled team as they sat around a table. It was evident that they were reviewing everything that they had found out and they turned to the newcomers.

Ino greeted Sakura with a smile and nod and Shikamaru merely glanced up, whispering to the woman beside him. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and nodded, obviously agreeing to whatever it was the Nara heir had said.

There was an ANBU member in the room and Itachi suspected that there were others with the remainders of the group. It would be no doubt that Inoichi and Ibiki would be interrogating the people Jiraiya had handed them and there had to be another person (perhaps Nara Shikaku) working on the code… unless they had broken it already.

"Tsunade-sama sent us here to see if you had anything to report. Karasu-san here is off to help Naruto and we came to see if there was anything to pass on."

Itachi blinked at the use of his team's name to the group but realised that it made sense; they would reveal his identity at some point but to do so know would cause confusion and then the rate of work would slow.

Ino stood up and ran a hand through her hair, pushing her long fringe back to reveal the other side of her face.

"I don't know what I can tell you from our side, to be honest. He's a hard one to crack… whatever methods Pein used they have really worked. Shizune is leading the autopsy and she should be here any minute with their findings."

Sakura nodded and seated herself as Ino shuffled up. It wasn't long before the slightly tensed silence was broken by the arrival of Shizune and she shut the door behind her with a bang, causing everyone to look round. In her hand was a black object and she dumped it on the table in between the two sofas that everyone bar Itachi was seated upon.

"We've concluded that these are chakra transmitters, suitable for conducting and converting chakra that is sent to them. It's why Pein is allowed to use the Rinnegan for each body and why he can use them in pretty much tandem."

The group was silent before Itachi interrupted,

"And why there is a lag after he uses an attack. The chakra needs to build up again and be converted so that it can be used… but that doesn't exactly help us."

Shizune shook her head, a small smile on her face as she came to stand beside Itachi. Although she said nothing, Itachi felt a hand placed on his arm and the fingers tightened round his skin, showing her gratitude that he was back.

"Couple this with the information of the code; 'The real one isn't there', I think we can assume that Pein, or the real one, isn't among the ones that are here in Konoha."

Something was niggling in Itachi's brain at that thought but it was like grasping at water; it slid through his fingers and into the deep pool of his brain, lost until he forged a bucket to forcibly drag it out.

"So he's not actually there… or he's not in the group or he's controlling them like puppets?"

Shizune shrugged,

"That's not my job is it? I don't understand it fully but there has to be something we're missing. Like the bodies, didn't you say that you saw one of them dead in the memories of the Shinobi?"

Ino murmured in the affirmative before everyone lapsed back into silence. The ticking of a clock was the only sound before Itachi glanced around the room and turned,

"I'm going to find Naruto… I have to tell him something."

 **目**

Naruto's steps fell heavier as he walked through the village, seeing his Shinobi either evacuating buildings or fighting against the wreckage that Sasuke's former team had caused. How did he know it wasn't Pein who had caused this damage? Simply because the man had promised they would fight outside of Konoha, and there was no point in wasting effort on something that you didn't want anyway. Naruto was the only thing the Rinnegan master wanted and now that he could obtain him, there was no need to lay siege to the village.

Sasuke, on the other hand, would no doubt be returning when Naruto was fully restrained. There were still two old fools to seek out on his behalf and Naruto hoped that, if worse came to worse and he was detained, Sasuke would be satisfied with the two deaths on his hands.

Somehow Naruto didn't think Sasuke would be satisfied until Konoha was rubble, just another wreckage caused by one of many wars.

A few Shinobi and Kunoichi stopped to pass a look at their Hokage, worry filling their eyes at the sight of Pein and Uchiha Sasuke flanking him yet Naruto bowed his head, a glint in his eye. The passing ninja would smile wryly before nodding in return, confidence restored in their Hokage and that he would be able to take on the Akatsuki without a hitch.

"So I noticed earlier that you named the failure of the Amaterasu as another failure of Sasuke's… may I enquire as to what the predecessors were?"

Sasuke glared at Naruto and Naruto smiled. Pein looked sideways at the blond and decided that maybe it wouldn't be so bad to indulge him on this small snippet. He probably knew of the reason anyway.

"The Hachibi no Oushi was to be collected by Sasuke and it seems the Jinchuuriki managed to work in a very close tandem to the ox, avoiding capture."

Naruto chuckled,

"Of course, though it seems odd you would come for me instead of going back to get the eight tails."

Naruto's consciousness sparked as he spoke of Bumble Bee, and he knew that the fellow Jinchuuriki had 'tuned' into their connection. It was without doubt that he would feel the presence of Akatsuki and Naruto hoped that Bee wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Have you been in contact with the Hachibi? You didn't seem surprised to hear of the failure."

Naruto shook his head,

"It's not that but I personally wouldn't have sent Sasuke. It's clear that he is nothing like Itachi and Itachi always completed a mission. Sasuke would obviously do the opposite, wouldn't he? It seems to be the running theme."

Sasuke clenched his fist as Naruto's dirty mouth spoke of his brother and Naruto's eyes lazily tracked the movement.

"Getting stressed over a few words? It seems Itachi's death took quite a lot out of the old Uchiha pride then."

As Sasuke's teeth clenched together and his jaw worked in the process of beginning to speak, Pein cut into the conversation.

"Of course Naruto would know everything about Itachi, wouldn't he? Maybe you should focus less on the dead and more on the people who will be the ones to put you in your grave."

Naruto's eyes moved upwards to stare straight into Pein's and a look of pure hatred was shot his way. They stepped through the boundaries that marked Konoha's giant gates and Naruto pointed off into the woods.

"We'll fight there."

Pein nodded before raising a hand. In one moment, five other bodies surrounded him and Sasuke raised a hand to his eyes in order to shield them from the dust that had been stirred up by their arrival. Naruto blinked away the dust, determined to keep his composure as calm as Pein had his.

"Well then, Naruto, where are your precious guards? Or will you stand alone knowing that you'll be defeated?"

Naruto walked off, making his way into the dense foliage of the forest. Instead of replying he ran at a moderate pace, checking to see if Pein was following. Upon seeing the orange haired group, Naruto smiled and picked up his pace a little, knowing very well where he would be at an advantage, especially if Itachi should join him later.

Slowing to a walk once the trees thinned and ended, Naruto rounded to see the group arrive. As expected, none of them were winded yet Naruto took particular pleasure in seeing the widening eyes of Sasuke as he realised where Naruto had brought them.

"Brings back a few memories doesn't it?"

Sasuke's eyes traced around the Valley of the End before finally settling on the huge statue of Madara.

"Does it bear any resemblance to the man himself? I'm sure he took that mask off to see you…"

Sasuke snapped his attention back to Naruto, his eyes whirling with the Mangekyou. A low whistle escaped Naruto's mouth and he grinned,

"That's pretty snazzy, if I do say so myself."

Sasuke moved to strike yet Pein intercepted with a single arm, holding the Uchiha back.

"Sasuke, he's mine."

As soon as Sasuke had stepped two paces back, two of the paths moved forwards, sending Naruto skidding onto the water. Naruto closed his eyes with a smile as he noticed one of the trees nearby ruffle and spun his body round on the surface of the water, arms spreading wide as two huge torrents in the form of dragons rose up and smashed into the two paths that had begun the assault.

Although they had not destroyed the bodies, or harmed them even, it was a signal of the very reason Naruto had needed the vast water body; for, out of the shadows, stepped one darkly cloaked figure and Naruto smirked, teeth glinting as his eyes sought the familiarity of Itachi's eyes in the darkness of his hood.

 **目**

Since leaving the interrogation block, Itachi's thoughts had been in turmoil. Everything had finally clicked and he realised how offhand comments could mean so much. Once, a long time ago, Madara had commented that he was going to check upon Pein, when Pein had just left the room. The exact words had been muttered;

"I'm going to check on him," and he had walked out of the opposite door.

It made sense, finally, to Itachi. It was clear that something had been missing before and now, now they had a way to finally defeat Pein.

It was clear from the message Jiraiya had left behind and the chakra transmitters that 'Pein' was just six bodies, not even the God Path being the true Pein. They were all receivers and, for some reason, the God Path had been the favoured one out of all of them.

He understood it; there was the real Pein, who probably wasn't even called that, who was somewhere in the network of wrought iron that was the Akatsuki's main base in Amegakure. He was transmitting his chakra into six bodies, swapping them if any harm came to them and placing each ring of the Rinnegan into each. It was why they all had specific jobs, and why there was a time lag.

If there was ever a moment that Itachi wished non-Namikaze clan members could learn the Hiraishin no Jutsu, it would be now. There was never a more urgent time to reach Naruto than now and it didn't take Itachi long to find the trail they had followed.

Nearing the Valley of the End, Itachi couldn't stop the smile that was brought to his lips. He knew Sasuke would be with them and knew that he would be taking him on again, seeking to disable rather than get himself killed this time, and he knew that Naruto would be able to wreak havoc on Pein, especially if this new intelligence was given.

Hearing the familiar sounds of a battle starting, Itachi's Sharingan flickered instinctively and he moved through the last of the trees, his hands forming the long chain of seals to activate a Jutsu he was only partially familiar with; Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu. As planned, twin dragons raised from the water on either side of Naruto and each slammed into a path, knocking them from their course.

Stepping calmly from the trees, Itachi stood a little to the side of Sasuke, waiting for the acknowledgement Naruto would show him, if the small smile on his face was anything to go by.

"Forgive me for my late intrusion, Hokage-sama, but I had to see Sakura-san to the hospital so she could continue her work."

A grin spread over Itachi's face as Sasuke stiffened. As always, the elder brother knew how to irritate the younger and even Naruto found some amusement from the situation. Moving swiftly past the Paths that blocked the way, Itachi stood by Naruto's side, close enough to whisper his message;

"He's not with them; these are just bodies that are disposable. To get the real one we would have to go to the Akatsuki base."

Stepping back and nodding to the enemy, Itachi reached a hand inside of his cloak and loosened the cork to the gourd of sake he had at his hip. Inside, contained in the sake, was the sword of Totsuka and he would rather the process of unleashing the legendary weapon be smooth and quick, rather than wasting time.

A sideways glance to Naruto showed that he was mulling over what Itachi had just said. It was only when he pushed the sleeve up his arm to reveal the white fox that he seemed to make a decision, nodding to Itachi.

It was now that the real fight had begun; Pein against Naruto and Sasuke unknowingly facing Itachi.

And Itachi vowed that he would never let Naruto fall, even if it would cost him his life.


	5. Chapter 5

**Brothers**

 **a male offspring having both parents in common with another offspring**

 **a male numbered among the same kinship group**

 **兄弟- 仲間**

A conscious movement overtook the balance of movement and the water inside of the tank bubbled, the air rising to the surface in effort to release itself. The hunched figure in the midst of the water shifted, the mask covering its nose following the path the body made and, consequently, sending shudders down the tube.

Behind a firmly closed eyelid, an eyeball roamed around, seeing things that weren't present in the room, or tank, but somewhere further – things that evidently distressed the owner. Wrinkled fingers tapped gently upon the glass that contained the water, skin whitening further as pressure was applied and the unseen events were smoothed over by fingers.

Madara heard the tapping on the glass and walked over to the huge tank, eyeing the person inside with distain. Dark hair floated around the youthful face as if he were Ophelia, cold and lifeless, having given herself to the water. But he was no Ophelia; there was no denying the woman had been dead in the stories but this man, this boy really, was still very much alive.

Long, pale limbs were encased in life preserving fluids, tubes connecting to his temples, nose, mouth and ears. His fingertips were free to touch the glass, feel a visual imprint on the clear surface. Three large plugs were placed on his right arm and two on the left, totalling the number up to five, and Madara took a moment to check each of them.

He could only see two that remained glowing; Konoha had evidently been able to destroy three of the Paths and he had to commend the village on that. Pein was one tricky bastard when he became serious in a fight and there were so many things one had to do just in order to weaken him.

One eyelid opened suddenly and Madara backed away, eye closed as the full force of the Rinnegan attempted to meet the Sharingan. That was one error he wouldn't make again; the first time he had met Nagato was when his Mangekyou had been fully sealed. As the Rinnegan was the higher level doujutsu and the trio had concluded he was a threat, Madara's powers, already weakened powers, had been fully cut off.

In the tank, Nagato's head suddenly fell forward, both eyes fully open, and even Madara felt the chakra, even through the barrier of the glass. He shook his head and turned on his heel, knowing full well that Nagato would be reliving a memory and doing nothing to prevent it; memories leeched on life force and the longer Pein was around, the longer Madara would have to continue to tread around him.

As the door shut with a loud band, Nagato's body shook, bubbles increasing and the tubes vibrating even more. His mouth opened, pushing the mask that coated his lips and nostrils away and the straps that held it in place breaking. Thousands of bubbled escaped his throat as a soundless scream rose up in the water, his eyes glowing with a further intensity as three of his arm plugs grew from a dark black to a cherry red, the water around them effervescing amazingly.

The water span, currents whirled up by the heat of the transmitters and the flailing of Nagato's limbs as he fended off whatever he could see, sightless eyes dulling until they were half closed. In a flash, a palm had slammed against the glass and it shattered, tumbling shards of crystal falling to the floor and water pooling into the room, Nagato falling forwards while the tubes connected to him ripped from the main interface.

The door slammed open and the Akatsuki cloak swirled around Madara's form as he stepped through the threshold, body held taunt and single eye scanning the room. He stepped into the water and through the glass until he reached the weakened body of Nagato, stooping low and crouching on the balls of his feet.

A finger poked Nagato on the cheek and what had been circular bars swirled together until they condensed into one dark orb, pale lips panting for breath.

"Your body isn't able to move, Nagato, or did you forget that?"

The man on the floor shuddered as the cold temperature of the room finally hit his skin, hundreds of goose bumps rising in protest. What little hair had survived the tank stood defiantly against the cold yet it wasn't nearly enough to protect him.

"Yah… iko…"

Madara recoiled slightly at the name, honestly surprised that the Rinnegan master's body was still capable of human speech. The amount of chakra that this one body fought to control was an immense amount, almost the amount that a Jinchuuriki would convert if it had the full powers of its Bijuu at its disposal. The only difference being that Nagato was constantly transmitting the chakra, constantly evolving it until it reached his own state and was 'pure' to use in one of the bodies he had selected.

"He's dead."

A memory, one that was supposed to be extinct with the capabilities of speech, rose into Nagato's mind; the image of a curled up girl, a boy in front of her and himself, watching as the boy pushed an attacker away, screaming at them for touching the girl. Nagato watched, pain filling his chest as he saw the men strike the boy – Yahiko – and his sunshine-face fall into darkness.

After that there was nothing left; not even Konan had mentioned it again. She had refused to be touched for weeks following that, shuddering every night and calling out for Yahiko to help her. Nagato hated that and would look over to the shadow body, the Yahiko that wasn't Yahiko at all but the man who had been the cause of all this, the one who had hurt Konan, killed Yahiko and then caused Pein to be born.

Yahiko wasn't Yahiko anymore; he was a hybrid between Nagato and the man who had caused the pain to the trio, and so Nagato had birthed Pein, a body who would show the world that it was cruel, that no one ever achieved happy endings and the world was an abysmal lump of rock, floating too far from the sun to be burnt to a crisp but too close to be frozen.

There had been three children left from a war, three children that had dwindled to a broken pair, the third a ghost following the former trio. Nagato felt his arm twitch as three of his six paths were completely put out of action, relief flooding his veins as the circular plug over his heart hummed reassuringly; Yahiko's body hadn't been touched.

"Ko…nan?"

Nagato's wide eyes watched as a malevolent aura spread across Madara's persona and his stomach plummeted, body attempting to rise from the ground yet flailing, muscles used to being incubated in the water rather than put to actual use.

There were times, Nagato could feel it, that the three consciousnesses that lay in Yahiko's body (the muted Yahiko who could do nothing but watch, the angry murderer and the watchful Nagato) were thrown out of harmony and it was often the angry consciousness that was let out. His restraint had been weakened from the fight against Jiraiya as all three consciousnesses had had to debate control, and he had been distracted further but the Sannin's ability to wreak so much destruction in his safe hold.

After that, there had been a long silence from Yahiko's body, no reassuring hum from the plug above his chest and Nagato knew that the third consciousness, the shadow if you like, had taken over completely. For the first time in what seemed like decades, Nagato had been restless, and it appeared that it was linked to Konan.

"You killed her."

A soundless throat roared in agony, mouth opening in pain as the final tear to the seam pulled and the fabric of Nagato's reality shattered, much like the glass had under his fingertips. He felt Madara's hands scoop under his armpits, lifting him into the man's arms and he fell limp, mouth shutting as hair draped over half of his face, beads of water spilling uselessly to the floor, almost purging it of the glassy sins Nagato had caused.

The rain outside howled, wind increasing, and the water falling with a shattering force. Madara did not dare try to step outside when Nagato was fighting; as perilous as the water was when he was angry, the intensity grew when the Rinnegan was being used fully, the rain becoming an enemy to those sworn in her village.

His mask could fall off in the rain, under the pressure of the miniscule droplets; all of his sins could be laid bare. Nothing was worth that, not even Nagato. They moved through the halls, footsteps echoing menacingly around them as the rain pelted against the building, Nagato stirred only a little in his arms before Madara entered a room, iron cast stairs reverberating as they were trod upon.

In the centre of the room stood a tank, similar to the one they had left behind, and a wired platform rose above it. Madara walked down the centre of the platform, pressing one of the buttons on the top of the tank to open it. Nagato, by this point, had stopped moving completely, resigning himself to the fact that he was to return to his watery depths, to control the two bodies and Yahiko, wrought pain on the world for all the pain the world had showed him.

His body sank to the centre of the tank, floating for only a brief moment before a mask covered his mouth, sucking the water away that had become trapped between the two interfaces, and needle-like projections inserted themselves under Nagato's skin.

Madara was slightly impressed that the man didn't even flinch as he knew from experience that those tubules hurt; the needles itched under the skin as a fiery inferno spread through your body, alerting every cell it touched.

Madara walked down from the platform and sat on the chair that was placed directly in the centre of the room, no doubt from when Orochimaru had first observed his experiment in the tank. Nagato had been a secret to Orochimaru yet the man had allowed himself to be manipulated by Pein, allowed to think that he was to continue his research when, really, they all wanted a better way to keep Nagato imprisoned and functioning.

He rested his right leg on his left knee, fingers lacing into the fabric as he watched Nagato succumb to the fluid's intoxication and the Rinnegan's pull; there was no doubt that Pein was failing and there was also no doubt that Madara would do anything to prevent that failure.

 **兄弟- 仲間**

Sasuke could feel the tremors in the earth, the wind and the water close to them. The small particles around them vibrated as energy consumed the two elites who had stopped, one panting for breath. If he wasn't panting himself then Sasuke would feel proud of the fact that they had caused this reaction in the Hokage of all people – then Sasuke supposed that Naruto had taken on six opponents at the same time and managed to take out three of them, a feat that the old Naruto would never have been able to do.

The chakra he had been using spluttered and Sasuke could clearly see it fail, watching in interest as his eyes trans-morphed back to blue and the red markings adorning his eyes lightened until they were skin colour.

Sasuke could see the man regain his composure as he crouched, eyes focused solely on his opponent. Gears appeared to be working in his mind as Naruto's fingers twitched and Sasuke wondered what could have caused such a great influence on the Hokage.

Throughout the battle, Sasuke and the strange, cloaked man had stood at the boarders, watching as Naruto had first run through a series of Taijutsu, then activating a huge Rasengan, throwing the spiralling orb of air and chakra at one of the Peins and obliterating it in an instant, a wry smile back in place on his face.

The next two had been relatively easy to take down; huge dual Rasengans and then a fluid motion that was evidently taught to him by the toads of Myobokuzan before Sasuke's own opponent had finally decided to play his part in the battle.

With a small gesture of his hand, Sasuke knew the man was calling for him to run with him, for them to part from Naruto and Pein in order to wage their own battle without interference. It also meant that, in the event Sasuke did have to employ various Sharingan measures, he would be able to keep safe from any outside intrusion, especially as he was still in the process of training his Sharingan up.

He hadn't fought properly with anyone since Itachi's death and a slight pang of regret; his brother wouldn't be his 'last' battle anymore, just a previous battle of the past, another conquer made in haste.

The man's style was odd; he combined water Jutsu and taijutsu, never fully attacking. It seemed as though he was holding back and it wasn't long before Sasuke activated a Chidori, ploughing ahead and around to the back of the man, one hand pushing through the black fabric in less than a second.

The response was not one he had anticipated; the man's body seemed to shimmer and he literally stepped around Sasuke, one hand pushing into the younger's stomach. Sasuke was hurled back as the man jumped into the air, cloak floating around him like menacing wings of a bird belonging to the lower depths of hell.

When the man landed, Sasuke stood, trying to seek eyes in the merciless depths of the dark hood. There was no relief until a single, small spark of light reflected against dark orbs… yet it was all the Uchiha needed.

"Mangekyou Sharingan," he whispered and felt the air turn turgid around them, the world freeing, slowing and stiffening as the Mangekyou took hold.

The world twisted around them, two figures caught in the hold of an inked black landscape, one anticipating using the final ploy that came with the Mangekyou and the other simply standing, anticipating the next move or so Sasuke assumed.

Sasuke moved his arm forwards, only to have the action mirrored by the man. He ran through a few other basic movements before the man copied them in perfect order. Sasuke frowned and moved his hands slowly to form a basic Katon Jutsu, his own flame joined by a copy no more than three seconds later.

What was this man achieving from copying him? Or was it some sort of technique? He needed to use the Tsukuyomi soon but the power was still charging up, being unused to being used by Sasuke. He had only used the Jutsu in practice and even then it had taken a long time to charge up, and the effects hadn't been anywhere near comparable to Itachi's… yet Itachi had bargained for this himself only to pass it to Sasuke.

Sasuke's irritation rose as the man continued the copying and, for a strange moment, Sasuke wondered if it was Kakashi under the hood, for he was known as the Copy Cat, after all – then he remembered that Kakashi was buried under rubble, having passed him before.

The speed at which the copying progressed had increased as another flame rose in the air; from three seconds it had gone down so something like half a second. This man was clever, quick and toying with him. Sasuke opened his mouth to speak,

"You are going to experience Tsukuyomi."

The words hadn't been spoken alone; the man's voice had said them in perfect timing and Sasuke snarled; so this was some technique of his.

"What kind of technique is this?" Again the two voices spoke and Sasuke's eyes narrowed, finally feeling the lure of Tsukuyomi and ignoring any reply that the man might have formed – not that he really would have.

The world around them shimmered, red replacing certain shadows and Sasuke revelled in the feeling, the warmth that the power brought and the moonlight overhead. A current of wind passed through the area and Sasuke brought his head up to face the breeze, eyes pinned to his prey.

"Why are you?"

As the words spoke, Sasuke imagined the man upon a pillar, feet chained to the top and a smaller pole securing his arms round the back of his body. He watched in fascination as his vision took hold in this reality and the echoes of a God whispered in his ear, begging to be repeated;

You have seventy one minutes and forty three seconds left of your punishment…

Sasuke drew the air around him into a think pole, tapered at one end. He twirled the makeshift weapon in his hands for a moment before placing an image of his own Kusanagi in its place, the sword of reality taking place of the stick.

Walking closer to the pillar and lowering it so that they were almost the same height, Sasuke brought the Kusanagi across the space the man occupied, too far from the body to cut but close enough to draw a path in the air, and it was this air that pushed against the man's torso, causing him to instinctively push his stomach in towards his back, seeking safety.

Sixty nine minutes and thirty three seconds…

There was a niggling in the back of Sasuke's mind, a warning almost, something threatening to intervene, and yet the Uchiha snarled, swinging the blade so that it did connect this time, a bead of red dripping from the very end of the blade.

I… I…

The niggling was back, this time with more force. Sasuke swung again, this time cutting the upper portion of the man's body. There were now two lines in the fabric of his clothing, both slashes revealing a line of welling blood pasted on pale skin.

It… It… Leave…

The third and fourth swings connected with the man's arm, ripping down muscle vertically and revealing an inked ANBU swirl on the left shoulder, finalising the fact that he was indeed a man.

L… Leave I… Leave… Alone…

The niggling had transformed to an irritating buzz and Sasuke clenched his teeth together in anger as he fought to ignore it. His head ached from the sound and yet, if he stopped here, there would be a chance that the man could break the hold of the Mangekyou and escape, leaving Sasuke temporarily undefended and with an even bigger headache.

It… Alone… Leave him alone…

Was it some form of conscience that has suddenly decided to awaken? Maybe, but Sasuke wasn't taking chances and he moved his sword to the man's legs, two small slashed to the thighs and the man's height fell a few inches as he compensated for the undeniable pain he must be feeling. Even if this was an illusion, his mind would be tricked into thinking the hold was real and that would cause an instinctive pain.

As he moved his arm upwards to slash across the man's face, his head hummed gloriously, pain overwhelming him and causing the Kusanagi to fall from his grasp, vanishing into ebony pieces as it hit the ground. Sasuke clutched his head between his hands and opened his mouth in a silent, agonising wail as the voice beat itself against the side of his skull;

LEAVE ITACHI ALONE!

The message was clear now, but to make sense of it? That was an impossible feat, one that grew another layer of confusion when the world shifted around him, clouds thickening overhead and blocking the light of the moon.

Where he lay on the ground, curled into a foetal position on his side, Sasuke could see the man as the pillar shortened until it blended into the ground, chains happily freeing his feet and legs. The clothing that Sasuke had sliced through re-knit themselves and the marks, as far as Sasuke could see, healed. Who was this man to be able to control this technique?

Cold iron felt as though it had settled in Sasuke's stomach as he thought of the voice; it had said Itachi, referred to this man as Itachi… and that was impossible.

Itachi was dead.

But this man…

… This man had to know some sort of technique, and employed it when he had copied Sasuke. Then the Tsukuyomi was a fake, something to make Sasuke think that he had won and then have it taken away in a glorious second.

The world began to crumble around them, blacks and reds receding to greens and blues, the sounds of fighting not too far away. Sasuke remembered that they had been with Naruto and Pein before this, though that seemed years ago. Before the man had stolen his technique, copied his words and stolen his brother's name.

The world had finished crumbling and Sasuke shut his eyes, pushing up from the ground. He noticed that the pain in his head had lessened, only a dull flicker left, and his eyes met with his opponent.

In one way, he had almost been expecting it. The Sharingan was known as a copying Doujutsu, an eye technique that's only purpose was to copy and exceed the original. It could only work for an Uchiha, even though Hatake Kakashi did use it magnificently (or had, at least).

In another way, it completely shocked him.

Two sets of Sharingan locked on one another, one widened in shock and the other twinkling with undeniable emotion. Sasuke's heartbeat increased as his denied thoughts suddenly had no place being in denial and his leg twitched, aching to run and push back the man's hood…

… Watching as a familiar, nail-painted hand rose from the sleeves of the dark cloak to the hood, pushing it frustratingly slowly from the owner's head and down to pool at the nape of his neck.

Sasuke's breath caught in his throat as two thick strands of hair fell forwards, a little crossing the red eyes of the man, eyes that he had last seen in a thick, pearly white; dead eyes that a corpse could see only darkness from.

"I'm sorry Sasuke; there won't be a next time."

It had been a heart wrenching sentence that made Sasuke's heart twist only when he thought back on it. In the battle, as Itachi had fallen from his throne as a Shinobi and onto the hard ground, the only emotion that had touched Sasuke with those words had been confusion, which saddened them even more.

The face he saw now was clean, fresh and very much full of life. The cloak he wore was similar to the Akatsuki cloak he now donned yet it looked so much cleaner, pure coal-black and untainted with the clouds of Madara's ideals.

If this really was Itachi… really was his brother and not just some illusion…

But it had to be an illusion. Itachi was dead, and the dead could not simply walk the earth again, especially with Orochimaru dead. Edo Tensei could have brought a certain degree of life to a corpse but it couldn't fix the Sharingan or give life back into Itachi, especially as he had died a long time ago, before the prospect of a battle with Sasuke fully closed in on him.

No, this could not be his brother; but, for a moment, he wondered if he just possibly could be…

Sasuke could feel something tricking down his cheek but whether it was the blood from the Mangekyou as it finally responded to his inner turmoil or tears at seeing the face he had come to despise even more than he was alive (if only for the guilt that wracked him when he slept – if he could) he did not know, but the liquid that spilt from his right eye was certainly clear, joining the other side in their silent tribute to the words an otherwise dead legend spoke,

"I'm sorry Sasuke; I lied before."

 **Empire**

 **a group of nations or peoples ruled over by an emperor, empress, or other powerful sovereign or government: usually a territory of greater extent than a kingdom.**

 **帝国**

Nothing but the dulcet thrumming of his heart kept Sasuke attached to the world, clinging onto a feeble thread as he fought to control emotions best laid dead and buried, dead like Itachi should be.

The name hurt. The simple three syllable name hurt Sasuke's tongue as if it were a corrosive acid, the thought burning into his brain much like a parasite claims its territory. Itachi the brother, Itachi the enemy, Itachi the hero… but he wasn't Sasuke's Itachi anymore. Sasuke's Itachi was one who hated Konoha, hated Sasuke, was with the Akatsuki and – even though he had known deep down that Itachi hadn't killed without purpose, that Itachi had lied – Sasuke's Itachi was a murderer.

Itachi didn't belong to Sasuke anymore. This Itachi was someone new, someone daunting and someone who wasn't hiding behind an alias. This was the real Itachi, not Sasuke's false Itachi… he was Naruto's Itachi.

He wasn't that stupid; the logical part to his brain knew that Naruto had to have had a hand in things, especially as Itachi seemed to keen to help Konoha, was accepted by the Hokage (at least) and was unafraid to go against Pein, conversing with Naruto beforehand. From the last he knew, Naruto would sooner string Itachi from his guts than even converse normally with him…

How much had he missed for a 'dutiful' crusade to destroy Konoha. It had started as a seed, only a niggling which promised that he wouldn't really betray Konoha, that the fraying bond between Naruto and himself which he had selfishly attempted to hack through and destroy had held firm, and Naruto held him bound to Konoha.

No matter what he claimed, Sasuke was still held by his bond to Naruto and he couldn't simply go against everything, no matter how much he forced himself to.

But before long, the small seed had germinated, leaved sprouting and a tainted flower rose from a thorny stem. The leaves had twisted, misshapen, into vines that plucked at his brain, Madara's whispers of promises and plans ringing through his ears. In this way, Madara had been the gentle gardener, nurturing the seed until it finally flowered, releasing the pollen that, in this case, would amount to Konoha's destruction.

Was that what he really wanted? Konoha had betrayed Uchiha but the Uchiha had betrayed Konoha to a degree. When would the endless circle cease? Could the knots the two powers had tied themselves in ever be untangled? Some people were convinced that one person couldn't change the world but what about three? Two brothers and a persistent annoyance… could they ever begin to sort out the mess left behind?

All instincts screamed that they could but Sasuke had lived his life for revenge. One simply could not renounce their ways, even with the return as shocking as this, and he focused on Itachi, Sharingan spinning as the final throes of the Tsukuyomi crumbled around them. Oddly, there was no change in his eyes, unlike he had spotted upon practicing the Doujutsu technique, and Sasuke tilted his head, watching as two haunting ghost-orbs flickered with something, the powerful control of a technique that was born for them.

Somehow, in the fledglings of his technique, Itachi – the one even Madara acknowledged control of the Sharingan to- had integrated his Tsukuyomi, turning Sasuke's technique into his own and fooling the younger. Elation faded as he realised Pein had been correct; since being part of the Akatsuki, Sasuke hadn't done anything right. Not even a technique that he should be able to have full reign over was governed by him and Sasuke knew more than anything, he hated Itachi right at this moment.

He hated him for lying (too many times to count), he hated him for running from the truth, he hated him for putting Konoha first, he hated him for returning to Konoha, he hated him for being him and, most of all, he hated him for becoming someone he was supposed to be under Naruto's help.

Thinking back to his hold in Itachi's technique, he realised that he should have noticed it sooner. Why had Itachi been in perfect synchronisation with him? Because he had overlapped their techniques. It was simple logic; the one with the better skills would always win, the one who had a higher degree of control would win, the one who knew what this life could gve out and had survived it would win.

Even now, after he had been proclaimed dead, Itachi was a winner. He was a survivor, born of war and made to fight. Even if he did not follow the logic, there were simple rules in the world of animals.

Deer did not want to lock antlers and fight, sinew and muscle pushing against another body, the whole weight focused on the most important organ in the whole organism. And if their antlers locked, it was over for the both of them. Two stags bonded by an unbreakable bond, the only future being death. They did not want to fight more than they wanted to jump into a fast flowing river and drown themselves but they did it because it was a second nature to them, to protect their land and win hinds.

Itachi was like a deer; he was born of peaceful intent yet raised in a way that made him monumentally pacifistic. Although he did not want to fight and cause pain, if it protected his home and the people he loved then he would fight until every drop of blood was drawn, every drop of water sweated out and until the last people stood. Itachi was bred to be a fighter and, no matter how much he may denounce it, if he ever did, there were some things that nature cannot allow you to deny.

So, as he stood here on the line between consciousness and shock, the line between acceptance and denial, the line between salvation and damnation (though he wasn't sure which direction was which), Sasuke felt his brain reject further information. His eyes clouded a little, looking off into an unseen area, thoughts freezing as he repeated one name in his head; Itachi's.

When he spoke, because the silence was deafening his senses, an alien voice sounded. The voice was raspy, high pitched and sounded very much like a child's, a frightened child who simply cannot accept what had been presented to them.

"What?"

Though his complex emotions had halted, Sasuke dully noted that Itachi's eyes were a warm, deep colour, the Sharingan faded, as Itachi took a step forwards. He stepped back, trying to maintain the distance between them.

"Sasuke-"

"Don't! Don't say my name!" There were so many beliefs that told of your name being connected to your soul, that if someone knew your name they had full control over you. They were just beliefs but Sasuke didn't want to take any more chances.

"J-just stay away!"

"Sasuke," Itachi replied gently, care finally allowed to show for his brother. There had never been any emotion in anything Itachi had said before and it honestly floored Sasuke to see how passionate and loving Itachi could be.

"Naruto is the Hokage… coming back to Konoha now, of all times, would be easy. I can help you to master the Sharingan, and as things go; you'll surpass me."

The words fell onto Sasuke and he paused, eyes wide as the implication set in. Itachi was offering help, help to help him become better at using the Sharingan than anybody. To hear those words, words he had always sought for when he was younger yet they only stuck a chord in his heart, a hollow note pounding through his marrow.

"No," his voice was steady and he rose, eyes burning with passion once more. "I chose my path because of you, Itachi, and I will stop at nothing until it ends. If you did not want me to chose this path then you should have come back to me." He paused, looking down as emotion caught the better of him.

"Why did you leave! Why did you leave me again? What does Naruto have that keeps you returning to him… even back at the hotel, in that town after the Chuunin exams you disregarded me… why… why is it always Naruto…?"

Sasuke hadn't noticed Itachi nearing and flinched violently when a hand clasped his shoulder and eyes looked deeply into his, scanning his face with a soft smile. It was so alien on the Sasuke's Itachi but reminded him of a time when he hadn't been so cold, a time when he had looked after Sasuke… and it was because of Naruto that he was back.

"No matter my choices, no matter who I choose to love, you will always be my brother. I will love you until it's physically impossible. It doesn't matter if you hate me, if you loathe me so much that you want to kill me again… I'll still love you."

He removed his arm from Sasuke and instantly the spot grew cold. Sasuke felt so young as Itachi looked down at him, eyes full of warmth and love.

"If you wish to kill me, though, I warn you that I won't go down as easily as the time before. And even if you do succeed, there is someone else who wouldn't be too happy, and seeing him unhappy would tear you apart."

He stepped back, not once turning his back on Sasuke yet his body language suggested that he was done with fighting.

"Everyone has their burdens and everyone has their secrets, but life isn't as difficult as it seems. If you want to live freely then one would take themselves off to a remote place and live there, prepared for death and survival every day. Humans are social creatures and the solitude would dive you mad."

Itachi looked off into the distance, eyes lingering back to where they had left Pein and Naruto.

"After Naruto brought me back, he told me that he was going to save me. He knew every detail about my life before I died and he still wanted to save me. After I repaid my debt to him I was prepared for a life of solitude, left Konoha and met with an old friend. Kisame was always a fool but he made me realise that I didn't want to be alone, I didn't want to live my life wondering what would have happened if I had accepted what Naruto offered, what Konoha offered."

Sasuke turned then, back facing Itachi as he looked out into the trees. He could feel Itachi open his mouth to speak yet had no time to hear what his brother said as a cry sounded from where they had left Pein and Naruto, a mournful and pained cry. Both Uchiha's turned their heads in unison as they recognised the noise. Itachi fled, Naruto's name on his lips and Sasuke watched, unwanted worry gathering in his weakened body as the bond pulled at him; whatever had happened between them, Naruto had been the one to cry out.

 **帝国**

It was easy for Madara to judge another's character yet this was an oddity. The new tank he had placed Nagato in should have been solid, even to chakra forces.

So then, why was Nagato's body trembling and why on earth had the smallest of cracks appeared on the side of the glass? The only thing that could precedent such an act would be the complete destruction of all six Paths of Pein, whereupon all the chakra transmitted would be thrown back and condense around Nagato, building up to shattering forces before it could be absorbed.

Possible, yes, probably, no. Sasuke would be fighting in Konoha and Pein would be against Naruto, alone. That left no opportunity for Sasuke to switch sides, and certainly no possibility for Naruto to call upon aide.

Had he underestimated the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki? Unlikely, but with all things concerned, the fox most likely had a part to play. Maybe it had taken over?

A small bead of blood rose from Nagato's mouth and Madara leapt to his feet. Whatever happened out there wasn't supposed to affect his body. He had to be in such a weakened state that…

Everything became clear then; it wasn't as if he hadn't thought about the matter before… and he would just be able to finally shake off an annoyance. Of course that did mean he'd have to then do the job himself but wasn't everything done quicker and better by one's self?

He didn't even bother to open the tank properly, smashing it with one fist. Nagato rolled from the glassy prison, sopping wet and as naked as the day he was born. He gasped, lungs unused to air, and slipped on the ground, scraping shards of glass into his palm.

"Not even the full power of the Rinnegan could handle one Jinchuuriki."

Madara grasped him by the throat, mockingly reminiscent of how Yahiko's body had killed Konan.

"So this is what the power of the Rinnegan can do is it? And you claim the Sharingan is secondary!" Madara laughed as power coursed through his veins, a grin forming under his mask. So this was what it was like to be ruler of an Empire, such control.

He grasped tightly onto Nagato's neck and slammed him against the nearest wall, choking the life almost fully out of him.

"You're nothing but apathetic waste, Nagato, yet now you'll finally join your friends in the gutter."

He looked deep into the Rinnegan, his Sharingan challenging the other eye yet drew back a little as Nagato spoke, something thought impossible; he had most likely absorbed enough chakra for the task by now and knew he wouldn't live long enough to store it for an attack.

"You… cannot… s-tand up to… The Chosen… One…" Breath was laboriously drawn into lungs as Nagato fought the whispered words, "He'll… end… the plague…you carry-"

Madara roared at the challenged and his left hand tightened as he drew back a fist, crushing the back of Nagato's skull against the wall, finally ending pain.

As he let go of the body and the Rinnegan rolled in lifeless sockets, Nagato slid down the wall, a bloody trail left behind where his head was touching the plaster wall behind him.

This was his Empire and he would bring upon the age of Bone to the Shinobi world, the glittering era of the Sharingan, but, as he stared at the lifeless body of a man who had been confined to a tank, he wondered how many more useless people it would take before Naruto would accept his fate.

 **帝国**

He was three bodies down, three down and three to go. From watching them fight, he knew that he had to take out the one who provided souls for the other bodies but how to do that without sage chakra? Even with all his skills, he was no match for Pein… but he had to try.

Naruto calculated that he had enough chakra to perform two large, wind infused Rasengans but that would only get him down to two. There wouldn't be enough for him to take down all three and if Pein got through, Madara would be free to get to Konoha. There had to be some way to defeat Pein fully, he just had to think of it.

Naruto… you're not thinking properly. What use are you if you can't use that brain of yours?

They were words that Iruka had told him after failing a test once, words which had stuck with him until now. Although he had denied it at the time, Naruto realised the truth in Iruka's words and thanked the Chuunin inside of his head; his brain would just have to think and he could turn the tables against Pein… after all, he wasn't the most unexpected Shinobi for nothing.

You're foolish if you think you can change the world with a glance… but, if there was anyone suited to the job… I think… perhaps…

Jiraiya had often called him a fool, ignoring the retorts, but under the goading he always left a message. Fukasaku mentioned that he was this 'Chosen One', that the prophecy revolved around him but Jiraiya had never mentioned anything of the sort, except a small notation in passing.

I severed all ties on that day, our bonds were broken the day I left Konoha.

Sasuke's harsh words, words of which the implication never really set in before yet now… now he had an idea. Bonds were forged between each of the paths and, following Sasuke's actions, he would have to break the bonds between them.

There was no such thing as a completely breakable bond but if he could sever it enough that the paths stopped functioning properly, as a whole unit…

He could stand a fighting chance without Sage Chakra. He would just have to think quickly, act quickly and separate the group as soon as possible. The longer he spent fighting Pein, the longer his enemy would scope his abilities.

Without a sound, Naruto charged forwards, clones appearing at his sides as he called upon his favoured Jutsu. The trio split, creating two more clones each to total the number of Narutos up to nine.

The group who had flanked to the left drew back a little, watching the path that sucked energy out. The middle took to stand in front of the central Pein, the one Jiraiya had mentioned as Yahiko, and the last trio took to the soul-container path.

It wasn't long before Naruto managed to swerve round the group, pressing to the left a moment before he made as if to hit the central path and making for the soul-container. After a few well placed Hiraishin kunai, Naruto managed to access the target from behind, crushing through his chest with a powered-up Rasengan and another set of Naruto's aiming for his head.

The surprise lingered in the air for longer than Naruto suspected and he panted, having scooted away as fast as possible from the duo and the clones burst into smoke around them. Until the smoke disappeared, Naruto's senses were on a high alert; he didn't know if Pein needed to see to employ his techniques or whether he could access them at any given moment.

Naruto discovered his answer when two sturdy arms locked around him and he spluttered, air being forced from his lungs as the arms tightened. His body weakened in the grip of the path and he stared ahead at two circular eyes, a mocking grin overtaking the God realm's face.

"The Kyuubi is almost within our grasp."

Naruto's head slumped as he finally began to succumb to Pein's embrace, eyes rolling into the back of his head as the word 'Kyuubi' repeated itself.

You're not going to end it like this, are you? I thought I warned you; if they take us, you'll have to make good your promise and neither of us want to end up dead. Though you may think you're invincible – a common misconception of your kind- you'll die just as surely as I will. Use your brain, break the tie between the real Pein and these bodies and change the world. You have the means, you have the will power and you sure as hell never back down.

The voice was low in his ear, like a beetle flickering by, wings beating thousands of times a minute. Everything seemed insignificant, the passing of the cool wind which he could still feel, the slight drip of the water as time slowed and the waterfall fell, not even the hold burnt anymore.

Everything slowed as Naruto opened his eyes, pupils dilating as light hit them, and his lips twitched, a small bead of saliva falling from the corner or his mouth. Time seemed to stand still as the Kyuubi questioned him, his heartbeat sounding louder than thousands of voices.

Red chakra started to leak into his eyes yet it was controlled and flecks of purple clouded the blue, the rest of his face changing slightly as the fox showed Pein exactly who held the Kyuubi in their grasp. Naruto was the controller of the seal, the one who had the power and Pein would be a fool to underestimate Naruto.

Naruto's arm tingled as time began to speed up and he suddenly remembered what the Kyuubi had meant and all that he had done to prepare for battle. Everything came rushing back to Naruto as he unleashed the Sage chakra that he had stored in the mark on his arm, knowing full well that his captive would absorb it.

The plan worked and Naruto was able to wiggle free of the frog-man's grasp, pushing away with his heel and rounding to face the final path. His face was defiant, knowing that he could choose to end everything here, and the man's face before him was passive. A tiny hint of a smile lingered at the corner of his mouth but Naruto ignored the taunt behind it.

"You have got further than anyone has against me before and I commend you for that. If you weren't such a beast then I would accept you into the Akatsuki."

Naruto snorted through his nose.

"You can give the act up Pein, I know you're not the leader of the Akatsuki. Madara's got you out here as his own personal delivery boy hasn't he? You may be under a delusion that you're doing something you want but, really, it's Madara's way of keeping you in check isn't it? What is he doing right now? Feasting? Relaxing? Keeping his hands free of work, that's for sure."

Eyes that had previously been cold frosted over and Naruto stared back, unwilling to give Pein a chance to laugh at him.

"I see becoming Hokage has unleashed the full mind of the Kyuubi. Yes, I may be under Madara's command but it was of my choosing. How can the world truly exist without the pain I teach?"

Naruto inched closer, feet barely making a sound as he slid over dirt and stones. Blue eyes darted around the area before risking a glance in the direction where Sasuke and Itachi had disappeared to. A brief thought crossed his mind; had the Uchiha clan become fully reacquainted yet?

At exactly the same time, Naruto darted forward and Pein spread his arms, his powers obviously fully recuperated. It was in seconds that Naruto was pushed backwards, feet now uselessly skittering across the rubble on the ground and he bent at one knee, a hand joining the scrape.

Naruto finally halted and analysed how far he would be able to get with the delay Pein's technique implemented; it wasn't very. Crossing his hands with a whisper, two clones joined him. Each plastered a grin on their face and darted a glance between themselves.

Two of the Narutos charged forwards, collecting chakra in their hands, forming half-Rasengans. Elemental chakra fused to the half-formed Rasengans and small balls of condensed wind chakra laid in Naruto's palm. Unlike the Rasengan, they were stationary and, in comparison, weak but it wasn't his aim to use a powerful technique at this point.

Pein easily blocked the attacks, propelling the clones back and destroying them. Before they had dissipated into smoke, however, Naruto had run forwards, using the exploding clones as cover.

Unsuspecting of the sudden, bold movement, Pein's head snapped back as the lack in his technique was met by the very last of Naruto's Sage Chakra, condensed into one blow. By all means, his jaw should have shattered yet glassy eyes looked at Naruto, wide and unseeing for the passing moments.

Naruto stood, one arm slung around his adversary's shoulder and the other drooped limply by his side. Blue eyes focused on Pein as he made no move to attack, mouth opened slightly as a small drop of blood rolled down his lip like dew dripping from a morning leaf.

"Yahiko…"

The voice that wheezed from the man's throat was weak from disuse and Naruto knew then, without a doubt, that this had to be the real Pein talking to him. Something had happened when he had hit Pein, something odd that would be unlikely to make sense.

The glazed eyes sparkled a little as the auburn haired male took a full look at him, pupil visible for the first time since Naruto had met the Rinnegan. Now that he was so close up to the legendary technique, it seemed to undermine its reputation. Naruto was sure, though, that this Pein, the God path, was suffering beneath his body.

"P… Pein?" Naruto had never before hated himself for being empathetic with other but now, as he practically cradled the man who had killed so many of his loved ones, a twinge of pity wracked through his body. Hadn't he admitted it before? He had admitted that he was under Madara's control… how far did this control seep into his mind?

"I… I-I can help you…" Although he hated the man as much as Naruto could possibly hate anyone, he had to say these words. If he left Pein to die, here on the banks of The Valley of The End, he would be no better than Madara. Pein didn't seem himself, or the façade of himself that he had constructed and Naruto wondered if this was the real Pein, the Nagato Jiraiya had whispered about to Fukasaku.

"Too… late… 'Ruto…He's…c-coming."

Pein's body crumpled at the knees as he collapsed, whatever pressure exerted upon his true form seeping through to this body. Desperation coursed through his blood as Naruto realised he would be too late to save Pein.

"It's not too late, tell me where you are and I'll find you, hold on."

A small cough sent a splattering of blood onto Naruto's clothing yet he paid no heed, resting Pein's head on his knees. Pale fingers reached up to press at Naruto's temples, sending images to his brain. The feeling of slender, cool hands pressing against his throat caught him at once and he felt his body change, naked and wet, as he faced Madara.

"So this is what the power of the Rinnegan can do is it? And you claim the Sharingan is secondary!" A raucous laugh accompanied the slamming of his body against the wall and dark hair fell into his eyes.

"You're nothing but apathetic waste, Nagato, yet now you'll finally join your friends in the gutter."

Tinted eyes leered as the oxygen supply to Nagato's throat constricted yet he felt the alien mouth smile, words flowing from his throat as water would from a stream.

"You… cannot… s-tand up to… The Chosen… One…" Breath was laboriously drawn into lungs as Nagato fought the whispered words, "He'll… end… the plague…you carry-"

With a roar, Madara's temper finally cracked and Naruto felt the pain, eyes watering as his memories caught up with the most prominent in Nagato's life; the war, the pain, the abandonment, the elation with his friends, the tragedy… and the lies, so many lies.

Naruto's own throat burned with tears and he was sure that he was crying, holding Yahiko's body. As the last conscious thought left Nagato – the thought that brought a smile to his purple lips – Naruto sobbed, crying out to the woods around him as a cold eye glared at him, revelling in the death he had caused.

The 'no' that had left his burning throat echoed around him and the sobs that followed through cast lingering mementoes to the trees; he had been an enemy, yes, but unjustly so. Itachi could have been as confused, scared and lonely as him, Naruto could have been, it was just a matter of circumstances that dominated this fact.

As the two Uchiha brothers approached cautiously, aware of Pein's lifeless body and Naruto's increasing sobs, they stopped a short way away, unsure of how to proceed. Naruto knew, by the placement of Itachi's hood, that Sasuke knew who he was, and fresh tears fell, accompanied by a wilting snarl.

Madara would be next; the Bringer of Pain, the Destroyer and the one who's very ideals had scratched through the pages of history, damaging them forever.

 **Memories**

 **a mental impression retained**

 **思い出**

It didn't take long for Itachi to react and he was surprised at how naturally he fitted to Naruto's emotions, how good it felt and how much he could be of use. He left Sasuke, swooping down to Naruto and gently taking the sobbing form into his arms, shushing the Hokage and gently prising the still-warm corpse of their supposed mortal enemy. He didn't know what Naruto had seen but, whatever it was, to make Naruto like this in a simple touch…

It took a few moments before Naruto realised that there was someone else there besides Pein and finally released his adversary, clinging onto Itachi and burying his head into the muscular chest of the Uchiha. He didn't even spare a glance towards the younger brother, trusting that no one would leave the place as the shock held them all there, together.

"Naruto," Itachi whispered gently, eyes full of worry as he forced Naruto to look at him. Blue eyes were rimmed with red, puffy skin, and it pained Itachi to see Naruto in such pain. He made a promise, as close to one as a Shinobi could get, at least, that he would do everything in his power to keep Naruto from becoming like this ever again.

"What did he show you?"

The sobbing decreased as composure and the situation finally hit the blond and he pushed himself off of Itachi a little, standing up and clasping Itachi's hand as soon as they had done so.

"I asked him to show me where he was… he was dying, Itachi, and he didn't want to die. He looked so helpless, so pitiful that-"Naruto cut himself off, gaze hardening. Itachi realised that Naruto was returning to himself, or at least the state he became when he was in battle. They still had Sasuke – and the remnants of his blasted team – to deal with and Naruto would protect Konoha no matter what; personal feelings could be left to dwell over later.

"Sasuke," he said, slowly, as if calling to an animal that would bolt with any given second.

Wind crawled through the space where they stood, howling in Naruto's ears yet whispering around the two brothers. It was probably an effect of being wind-natured yet there was no one close to ask about this; Asuma, the only other prominent wind user, was dead, Jiraiya – who knew everything, or so it seemed – was dead, Tsunade probably wouldn't know as she was medically inclined and Kakashi… Kakashi's condition was debatable.

Together, due to the connection their fingers had made, Naruto and Itachi stepped forwards, just one step. Sasuke's eyes darted between them, finally resting on the hand joining them, and a half-snarl crossed his face, almost as if he had controlled his emotions before allowing them to be seen.

Which he probably had just done.

Sensing that escape on Sasuke's part was imminent, Naruto extracted his fingers from Itachi's hold, thankful that Itachi understood why. Sasuke was a delicate thread, too much nipping or pushing and he would snap.

Naruto could have used Hiraishin no Jutsu to secure Sasuke, he had just about enough left to hold him while Itachi backed him up, but he couldn't betray Sasuke's trust so easily, regardless to what had occurred in the past.

"You don't have to run." The words were careful, slow and honest. "Come back home, I can assure you that you'll have a smooth transition back into the village."

The words would be tempting but even Naruto knew, for all his optimism, that Sasuke wouldn't just jump on his offer. Instead, Naruto nodded and sighed heavily. He hated what he was about to do, but it was a necessity. He had to let Sasuke see that it was his choice, that no one was going to push him to what he wanted to do and that now, even though it had been needed, he wouldn't be manipulated anymore.

Slowly, as not to alert Sasuke's Shinobi instincts and coax him into leaving, Naruto tugged on the fabric clothing Itachi's arm, turning away with a pointed look at Sasuke.

"You're always welcome, remember that."

And then they turned, leaving Sasuke alone with the lifeless corpse of Pein. Whatever retribution Sasuke could hope to get from Madara, assuming he went back to the Akatsuki, might be found contained in the dead path, maybe for investigation on the eyes. It was a valuable source for information but Naruto had plenty of information on the eye, contained through the touch Pein had shared the moment before he died.

Naruto knew he would be plagued with visions, he had discussed this matter once before, with Jiraiya. The Sannin had carefully explained mind-transfer techniques, making a quick mention about the Yamanaka clan and Ino, before going into greater depth about the sharing of memories.

The most often case upon sharing memories was taken on was during the marriage process. Not all couples undertook it, but the ones that did always seemed to share a sense of undiluted love, full understanding, and it made sense.

But another case was to show a person the lies behind the façade of, say, an enemy. Jiraiya had explained that many people used it to show the other the reasons they had taken the actions and Naruto knew it was possible that Itachi had done the same thing when they had first met, his Sharingan automatically taking on the process as a self-preservation method.

Jiraiya had also muttered a warning, telling Naruto that a man was more true to himself in the final moments of his life then the whole duration of breaths he had taken. In those last seconds, a man could suddenly realise his faults or simply accept who he had been, calming the mind.

Pein hadn't realised himself on his own; Naruto had been the one who had to contain the memories and the words he had spoken to Madara, the words that the Chosen One would be the one to defeat him, spoke volumes… contained in the memories of Nagato was surely to be more information about Madara. Add this information to the stores Itachi held… then maybe, just maybe, they had a chance to take him down.

Naruto could feel the confusion dripping from Sasuke as they left silently and part of him screamed that he was a coward for turning his back on his friend, abandoning him. Deep in his heart, Naruto knew that this would be the only way to ensure Sasuke would come back peacefully, acceptingly, yet it hurt to have to leave. For once, it was the younger of the two who was leaving.

They had just reached the nearby foliage before Naruto stumbled, the weight of the battle finally taking its toll. Itachi supplied the weight to substitute for the stumble, hooking his left arm around Naruto's shoulders and hoisting him up a little. Naruto thanked him, a soft look on his face, and he closed his eyes for a moment, a smile illuminating his face.

If the happiness didn't get through to Sasuke, how happy Itachi was and how happy Naruto was, then the Hokage wasn't sure that Sasuke would ever return. All he could do for now was wait, wait for Sasuke's decision and wait for the barrage of memories that would no doubt claim him when he slept.

 **思い出**

The moment Naruto stepped inside the gates of Konoha, supported by a hidden Itachi, he was greeted by the grim faces of Izumo and Kotetsu. They bowed formally, muttering his title with a weariness only gained by fighting. Naruto looked blankly at them, understanding that he needed to hear a report of any battle occurrences but wanting nothing more than to sleep.

"The medics have collected anyone who is in harm, sending the most experienced, bar Tsunade-sama, to deal with those in danger of losing their life and the lesser experienced to help heal the lesser wounded."

Kotetsu paused and Izumo took over. Neither of them wanted to impart bad news onto the Hokage, especially when he was so tired but it had to be done.

"Kakashi-san and Akamichi Chouza are both in critical condition. Akamichi-san is confirmed to be able to pull through but Kakashi-san…" As he trailed off, Naruto simply nodded. He knew that yet had faith in Kakashi. If Kakashi did die… it was an unwilling prospect, everyone knew that.

"Tsunade-sama is pairing with Katsuyu, sending clones to assess the damage to Konohagakure and her people. The remaining Akatsuki members pulled out shortly before you arrived; a bird was seen flying up in the sky though it was hard to see what specific type. We believe it was a falcon though."

Naruto nodded with a sigh, air leaving his lungs as his shoulders sagged. He thanked the two Chuunin politely and stumbled onwards, small movements with his hands guiding Itachi's route through Konoha. Already a few people had returned from the Kage mountains, assessing the damage and moaning optimistically.

The good thing about Shinobi village buildings was that they were easy to rebuild. Destruction was a part of the Shinobi lifestyle and so the villagers that lived around the ninjas adapted to suit their lifestyle, knowing what type of wood would be the cheapest yet strongest, and the easiest to get a hold of in the event of property destruction.

A few people smiled as Naruto and his guard passed, thanking their Hokage grateful and Naruto smiled, knowing that was what he needed to do. He didn't bother to hide his fatigue; he had earned it fighting Pein and it proved his dedication.

"Naruto!"

Sakura approached them, all signs of previous fatigue or damage completely gone and she nodded to the pair, taking to Naruto's other side and supporting him further.

"The hospital has been taken back over by Tsunade-sama so she sent me to collect you. She had complete faith, of course, and one of the other raven guards notified her that you would be arriving soon… but just in case there were any injuries that needed to be tended to."

Naruto nodded, wondering what Sakura thought about the person on the other side. She knew enough about Uchiha Itachi that could allow her to recognise him, especially amongst this battle as people dropped precautions in times of fatigue.

"What happened to you, Itachi-san?"

Naruto's body jolted as shock overwhelmed him and he stared blankly as Itachi chuckled blankly, striving to meet Sakura's questioning.

"Sasuke took off to help Pein at first, leaving the remainder of his team – as you no doubt know by now. I hadn't planned to reveal who I was, honestly, but it was an unbidden occurrence. We fought against each other, Sasuke and I, and I won this time around, infusing my Sharingan into his and successfully confusing him."

Sakura muttered something under her breath and it took Naruto a moment to realise that it had been directed at him, no doubt a moan to get him to move quicker.

"Pein was defeated," Naruto's eyes flickered to Itachi's as he left the specific details out of the actual cause of death and he was thankful for it. He needed to gather his thoughts before an outburst over this broke out… maybe he could hold a council meeting when it was all done.

"He's gone now and we left Sasuke, trusting him to make a decision he would deem fit. You of all people, Sakura-san, know that Sasuke would flee if he felt even the slight entrapment and this is what we hope to have avoided. Soon enough he'll come around, Naruto has a rather persuasive streak in him."

Sakura chuckled at that and nodded. It wasn't odd that these two could get along, really if he thought about it, but it seemed strange under the conditions. Itachi had been gone to Konoha but had he returned straight here before? He had mentioned Sakura to Sasuke but how far had their involvement gone? Enough for her to know who he was?

"Don't pull that face, Naruto." Sakura's voice was gentle and chiding, almost as if she could read his mind. "Itachi came here to Konoha first and took me to Tsunade-sama after Sasuke was done with me. If not for Itachi, Amaterasu would have taken my life."

Naruto frowned; did that mean Sakura was drawn into a life-debt? Life-debts were often discarded nowadays as so many people were saved but in some cases there were Shinobi who stuck to the old rules, claiming life-debt; the process where one owes their life to another and so must repay the debt in a way the saviour sees fit, as long as no harm comes to either party.

But Sakura wouldn't just sign her life away to Itachi would she? She hated the man, as far as Naruto was concerned, even though she knew very little about him.

Somehow, Sakura had picked up on the confusion on Naruto's half, sighing heavily as she shifted his weight and Naruto's eyes locked on hers,

"You know you could just ask outright." She seemed to mutter to herself, frowning in the way an annoyed woman would, "Really, do I have to do everything for him? He's old enough by now – and a Hokage to boot… but no, never grows out of it."

Her green eyes cleared and she smiled sickeningly at Naruto, tilting an eyebrow.

"I was fighting Sasuke and Itachi came to help me after I had been knocked out. I managed to put a few things together and I trust you, Naruto. If you're comfortable with a man who we assumed was out to get you then I think I can put my differences aside. I don't like the guy, yet at least, but for you… well, most people will agree with me when I say you're special."

Naruto couldn't stop the roll of his eyes in time and Sakura pushed him lightly on the bicep.

"I know I'm going all sappy but it's true. Deal with it," she added in afterthought, a smile ghosting her lips. "Come on now, let's get you a nice bed in the hospital or something and get you seen to properly. I don't think you need much," it was obvious why but Naruto was thankful she didn't draw attention to the Kyuubi's powers.

"Tsunade will want to talk to you tomorrow, no doubt. If anything, you'll need your energy for that."

Naruto shuddered this time; Tsunade would want details and probably physically maim him for going against Pein alone… at the most.

 **思い出**

Naruto snuggled further under the sheets, pulling them fully over his head and smiling in the darkness as he heard a deep chuckle. Tsunade had let him stay at his own house (after healing any minor injuries and getting an assurance from Itachi that he'd watch Naruto like a hawk) for the night to recuperate. It wouldn't be a full night's sleep, more a few hours because the Hokage would be requested in a meeting early in the morning, but it was better than nothing.

Even more so because he got to spend it with Itachi.

The bed shifted down as Itachi climbed in, his cold feet pressing against Naruto's calves briefly as he readjusted their bodies, heads leaning slightly against each other and limbs entwined. They were silent, words would most likely be shed tomorrow, an argument maybe? The risk behind each of their careless reactions (because Naruto trying to help Pein had most definitely been careless, as had Sasuke's revelation of Itachi's survival) was great and the emotions of war changed people in various ways.

For what seemed like forever, Naruto watched Itachi as he drifted to sleep, smiling each time Itachi's eyes flickered behind his eyelids or a hint of a smile twitched on his lips. He wondered what someone with extraordinary eyes dreamt of, after all, dreams were supposed to be subconscious thoughts blended with memories and imaginations… did Itachi ever dram of him?

Sleep finally overtook his weary body yet Naruto knew instantly that this wouldn't morph into REM sleep… no, this would be the sleep that had threatened to show Pein's memories.

The first memory was a simple one, Pein – Nagato – was smiling as a girl beside him picked a flower from the ground. They were seated in the centre of a field, surrounded by blue flowers.

From the look of them, Naruto suspected that these types of flower were only found where they lived, or had lived before everything had turned to misery and pain. He had never seen such a vivid hue for petals, nor – as the memory supplied – such a distinctive smell… sweet yet with a piercing tint, as if it was a flower that never wanted to be forgotten. It made the forget-me-not seem a distant memory; this was the flower that would be remembered.

A sheet of paper ruffled as a breeze passed through the fields, flower heads lifting upwards and a few of the older petals drooping, ascending to the wind and curling around the children in the field.

"Nii-san," the girl squealed as a petal caught in her hair and her eyes lightened, "Look what I made!"

The excitement of a child was pure and the brother of the pair looked up with dark eyes, hair falling over one side of his face as he smiled, brushing it away and plucking the paper counterpart to the real flowers.

"It's beautiful Konan."

Naruto's breathing shuddered as the girl was identified. How could he have killed his sister? Even if it had not been a blood tie, though looking at them now it did look like they were siblings and he had never seen Konan before her death, you didn't just kill someone that close to you… did you?

The wind picked up suddenly and Konan shrieked, her voice echoing around as the paper folds caught in the breeze, lifting upwards.

Naruto knew about Konan's ability with paper and so watched calmly as it returned to her at her calling. What he hadn't expected, however, was the cold look Nagato gave her,

"Mama said not to use them. The bad people will come for us."

Fear was place in Konan's eyes as she crumpled the paper flower with determination, turning to the blue petals and stems with a glint in her eye,

"You hear that flowers? You best behave too otherwise the bad men will take you away."

She shrieked into laugher and smiled, grabbing her brother's hand and proceeding to run back to, presumably, their home, disturbing thousands of granules of pollen as they did so. Naruto's eyes weren't focused on the carefree girl, however, they were fixed on the dark haired boy as he bent over at the hip, scooping something up into his palm and glared at the crumpled flower.

The memory fizzled out and Naruto was distinctly aware of shifting in his sleeping position, pillows moulding to his head as he burrowed into them. Patiently, in his dream, Naruto waited for the next memory and it came slowly, teasingly.

"I don't think that's a good idea, do you?"

Small snatched of movement and a crack above him. Naruto looked through Nagato's eyes as the boy peered through the crack in the floorboards at the dark-clothed men, eyes wide and breath close to panicky.

"Put the knife down or we'll make it ten times worse. We're just here to look for something."

His body gave a jerk and Naruto saw a pale hand clutching onto Nagato's own, Konan's eyes mirroring the fear he felt. Whoever these men were, they were here for the sheer purpose of destruction. These weren't Shinobi, these were cowards.

"D-don't!" A cry rose from the woman who had been holding the knife as two out of the three men secured her arms, the last man sliding a hand under her robes, pulling at the lace thread that held the nightgown together.

"Why dress in such a wanton way then?"

The woman blushed, stuttering that she had just drawn a bath yet the hand crept lower. Naruto's eyes were forced closed as Nagato blocked out the vision, drawing back from the small escape of light and holding Konan tightly.

Naruto wasn't sure how long the rape above them spiralled on for but the floor shifted above them, the cries of, presumable, the children's mother finally ending with a choking gurgle, almost as if her throat had been slit. Nagato pressed an eye tentatively to the crack in the floorboards, scooting back a little as liquid dribbled down his forehead. He pressed a finger to it and had to cover his mouth to stop the scream escaping as his mother's blood tainted his skin.

"C'mon, we'll get stuck here if we wait any longer. You heard the plans, they're sending in the scout teams."

Fear took Nagato again and Naruto knew that these scout teams were the ones that would flatten an entire nation in minutes. A small village stood no chance against such a force against them and Nagato resigned himself to that fact, occasionally dabbing at the sticky trail on his head, shushing Konan as she whimpered miserably, wanting to escape.

A deafening pulse covered the ground above them and the children shielded their eyes against the rubble falling inwards. Ten minutes later, everything fell silent and they waited, waited for any sign of life. When they received none, Nagato pushed with his lithe body, unclipping the catch that held them under the secret floorboards. When the weight on top remained unmoving, it was Konan beside him who screamed, calling endlessly for help.

Eventually, after what seemed like hours, scrabbling above them could be heard and light filtered back in, a groaning voice eventually lifting the floorboards up, looking down on the only two people he had been able to find.

Naruto felt Nagato's surprise as he looked at the child, no older than the siblings, and was even more shocked when he smiled and held a hand out for the pair.

"I'm Yahiko and it's nice to meet you."

Their faces melted as Naruto flashed through scenes containing the Sannin team, Tsunade and Orochimaru walking away from them and Jiraiya almost – almost – doing the same. Time that seemed so precious to Nagato, he could feel through the lingering memories, was skipped, moving to see the face of Jiraiya, shocked beyond all doubt.

And there was the change, he could feel six layers to everything, calling out to be used and manipulated. The very air around them seemed to be made of layers and, with training as he would realise later, the Rinnegan could be taught to break down very particles, rearrange atoms and even build moons, or at least the Wielder of the Six Paths had been able to.

Jiraiya left them and nights blurred endlessly, one night simmering in his mind as he watched Yahiko die. Pain came with it and Naruto understood, finally, why Pein had been shaped.

They were just children, even though they put up such a façade. All three of them were children that a war had forgotten, abandoned and shown the horrors it included. Their only hope to be free of it had abandoned them, believing it to be what was best, and the only person who held them together, really, had just been slaughtered before his eyes.

It wasn't an excuse for his actions, not even a retribution for them, but an understanding was better than nothing. Naruto understood why he had become such a pain-ridden person, hating life and the pains, memories, it drew with it.

The next scene made Naruto's blood boil and he felt the bed shift slightly, no doubt Itachi checking to see if the cause of his muscle tension was in his head or not.

"Join me," a dark, callous voice intoned and Nagato looked up, panting heavily. His stomach heaved and he fought down the wave of sickness, conscious of Konan's everlasting hand on his shoulder. As always since that incident, she was silent, watching the world with her eyes only.

"Akatsuki can offer you so much more." Nagato cocked his head, thumbing the summoning scroll behind him. He had chosen to relocate the six paths recently and this was what was making him so sick; his body couldn't always handle the amount of stress he put on it yet there was no other option but to keep moving.

"You'll have your revenge on the village for what they did. Did you know it was a planned attack? The village could have hired Shinobi to defend you, the main village that is, but they fled instead, allowing Konoha and their enemies to fight freely upon neutral ground that is not theirs."

The figure looked down, blue mask glinting black as the sun hit it.

"You'll be unstoppable. A figurehead to the Akatsuki as I'll need you for my cover and you can show Konoha how much you thank them for making you who they are." The person paused, dwelling over the words hanging limply on the edge of his tongue, "And show the Toad Sannin he should have kept you by his side."

Silence was inevitable and Naruto wanted to scream at Nagato to kill Madara, never listen to him at least, but he knew the outcome. He knew that Nagato had been battling between revenge and acceptance yet revenge was so much easier to deal with.

If he accepted all that happened then he would have to make peace with the unjust destruction other nations had caused, and all the horrific deaths. Briefly he wondered what side it had been to rape his mother, and what side the man who aided the becoming of Pein had been on.

"You don't have to go that far, Nagato," Konan whispered, desperate – he believed – to find peace with herself and the world. He absently wondered if she'd found it yet, but could not know how she had achieved such a state of mind in war.

"It's a never ending war."

The man who would come to be known as Madara nodded, inclining his head softly.

"As long as Shinobi exist…" he started, recounting familiar words. They had been uttered not too long ago, Konoha was still mopping up he believed, and the thirteen year old boy in front of him listened carefully to the words, Naruto along with him.

"As long as Shinobi exist there will be wars," Naruto felt the smirk behind the mask and Nagato's eyes widened. "Famous words of the Yondaime Hokage, just before he began the sealing."

Naruto felt cold, knowing that this man had been behind the attack. Things were becoming clearer and he was grateful to the man who had killed Jiraiya.

No, that didn't mean he had forgiven him, not in the slightest, but it did mean that he would take on Madara with Pein's hatred still lodged in him.

At Konan's disapproving sigh and the handshake between Madara and Pein, Naruto felt the memories slide, everything Pein wanted him to know finally gone. Naruto opened his eyes, staring up at the darkened ceiling of his, their, room and closed them again wearily.

The grip on his body had slackened and Naruto twisted his head to the side, staring at the timeless features of sleep that were drawn onto Itachi, smiling warmly at the man's calm demeanour.

He very much doubted that he would see it again for a while, knowing the amount of work he would be doing in the next few days. At least he would have this memory to keep him company late in his office.

 **Explanation**

 **the act or process of explaining**

 **説明**

"Naruto, wake up."

Jerking upright, a blond mass of hair fell into Naruto's eyes and he stared ahead with blank eyes, eyelids threatening to droop back down. Itachi was standing in front of him, a hand on his hip and his hair free of the usual pony tail. Naruto would have commented on how much Itachi looked like a woman if it hadn't been for the fact that the Uchiha was clothed in nothing but a towel, and water droplets were accepting gravity and trailing down his chest.

Naruto gulped as he tore his gaze away from Itachi's muscular abdomen (secretly wishing Itachi's hand would spasm and let go of the towel) and decided that he was definitely awake now.

"Bathroom's free. You have a council meeting in an hour, Sakura called me out of the shower for it. You might want to check on her as well… her face became awfully red when I opened the door."

Naruto's mouth opened to a small 'o' and he muttered,

"Were you just in that towel?"

Itachi looked down, as if only noticing that he was wearing just a towel.

"Oh…"

Naruto nodded, eyes closing as he fought to control specific urges that would end up making them late for the meeting with Konoha's council. His own pleasures could wait for Konoha, the village was torn down and they needed guidance about how to recover.

"I'll be back in a minute."

Itachi walked out of the room, blue eyes focusing on thigh muscles as they contracted with walking. A light chuckle escaped Naruto's chest as he marvelled on how, such a short time ago it was, Itachi had been hidden to him behind that ghastly Akatsuki cloak. Never had he imagined that such a body lay beneath it.

"Great," Naruto muttered, "I sound like a pervert now."

Shaking his head, Naruto swung his legs out from under the covers and sat upright, adjusting to the sudden movement as the world danced behind his eyelids. The air felt cool on his skin as Naruto pulled his boxers up, just so that he wouldn't be revealing anything upon standing up. Sleeping tended to cause his clothing to slip and it became a second nature to pull clothing back to normal after missions with Sakura.

After all, waking up to receive a punch to the cheek was never the best morning starter. Then hearing a rant about how indecent men were, and then being punched again for some 'inappropriate' comment never made those days fun; it had been mandatory to learn.

Just as he was standing, Itachi walked back in with a hair dryer. He looked at Naruto with an impassive face and looked to the power socket near the mirror. Naruto shrugged his shoulders, passing Itachi as he was setting up for what the Hokage liked to call his 'cosmetic time'.

"I'll see you in a bit."

Itachi smiled and Naruto's stomach did a belly flop. He would never be able to get over how beautiful Itachi looked when he let his restraints go. He was perfect.

The water was pleasantly warm when he first turned the tap on, obviously courtesy of Itachi's time spent in the tub, which he was thankful of as it usually took a good minute or two for the pipes to warm up in this house.

It was the little things that the Uchiha did, such as taking a shower first, using the cold water and letting Naruto sleep in a little more, that made his chest tingle with affection and love. There was no doubt about it now; Naruto was sure he loved Itachi. The time they had spent apart had left him sour in the sense that part of him had been taken when Itachi had gone.

Seeing him return, with full glory, might he add, had set all senses alight. He was a powerful Shinobi, a beautiful fighter and Naruto knew that he was the only one Itachi would willingly spend the rest of his life with.

It could be considered a little presumptuous to simply admit it like that, that they'd be together forever – as a child would say – but it was merely an unspoken fact. Itachi had already admitted, multiple times, that he couldn't imagine his life without Naruto, didn't want to imagine his life without him, and Naruto knew now, with uttermost certainty, that he didn't want to live without the Uchiha.

The taps snapped off and Naruto stepped out of the shower, giving in to the childish impulse that was to place his own feet over the wet imprints still left from where Itachi had stepped out on the towel. He smiled as he noticed that Itachi's feet were a little bit bigger than his and snatched a nearby towel, wrapping his body in the fluffy material.

After he was dry, and his teeth had been brushed, Naruto opened the door with the towel securely wrapped around him. Unlike the towel Itachi had, he left his unfolded and so could easily wrap it around his shoulders and have it cover his body, ending at the knees.

Instead of having to traipse to the bedroom, however, Naruto's clothes were in a neat pile by the door, evidently placed there by Itachi. It wasn't until he had tripped over them, however, that Naruto noticed them and he growled loudly, sprawled out on the floor.

"Naruto are you-"

The sentence was cut off as Itachi's head poked out of the nearby door way, the sound of a hairdryer clicked to silence.

"Oh," came the single gasp Itachi let out as he looked down, smirking as his eyes trailed lazily over Naruto's body before him.

"As much as I'd like to take the time to discover where you're particularly sensitive," Naruto's flesh raised up as he shivered to Itachi's deep voice, "We'll be late if we… express our desires now. Perhaps later."

Naruto heard the bedroom door click shut and pushed himself off of the ground, noticing that the towel had slipped completely and now lay next to him on the floor.

"So much for subtlety then," he muttered and scooped his clothes up.

Ten minutes later saw a fully dressed Naruto and a completely groomed Itachi sitting comfortably downstairs, Naruto's back against Itachi's chest as Naruto attempted to get Itachi to fee him.

"It'll be fun! We've got about five minutes before Sakura-chan gets here so just one spoonful, please?"

Itachi sighed, "Naruto, you're not a baby. If you wish to act like an infant then I can buy some nappies for you and you'll go to bed at six. Plus, a baby cannot be Hokage so maybe you'd like to hand your seat over to the Advisors?"

Naruto huffed, "You're no fun. Isn't it what couples do? Feed each other on picnics and such?"

Naruto had placed the bowl of cereal they had held together on the floor and turned around to face Itachi, knees between the Uchiha's legs and the insides of his wrists resting on muscular shoulders.

"I do not think," Itachi began gently, "That we are the conventional sort of couple, Naruto. In fact, I would go so far as to say that most traditions elude us. Plus, not all couples feed each other… though I suppose it could be a way of trust, the feeling of being fed like that of being fed as a baby when you are defenceless and so-"

Naruto kissed Itachi then, moving his hands to push the Uchiha's head into the contact. When they broke apart, Naruto smirked,

"So we're not conventional. I bet the conventional couple wouldn't have sex out of wedlock."

Itachi chuckled, "You have a dirty mind, Naruto. So we are definitely not a conventional couple… though I do rather think that such a couple would have one male and one female… I suppose if you really want me to fee you, we can forget that we ever had sex and pretend you're a woman."

Naruto shuddered,

"No thanks. I'd rather run round Konoha naked."

Itachi pressed a kiss to Naruto's bottom lip and began to slowly move his lips upwards until he covered Naruto completely; coaxing his mouth to open so he could taste the wildness that came with Naruto.

"Oh for goodness sake, do you have some sort of sense as to when I'm coming over? Just stop it! I don't want Sakura to faint of shock when she gets here, which will be in a few seconds, boys."

Naruto and Itachi broke apart in surprise to see a red faced Shizune, again. This time, Naruto didn't even bother to deny the charges, smirking as he glanced at Itachi,

"But Shizune! We were just getting to the good bit."

Shizune choked on air and her eyes widened. Reluctantly, Naruto slid out from where he had been comfortably resting between Itachi's legs and swung round to slide off the sofa. Itachi merely rose, the same calm façade on his visage as he took place next to Naruto.

"Good morning!"

Sakura's voice was cheerful and she poked her head round the front door with a smile. Though she couldn't see Shizune's pink face, she could feel the embarrassment in the room and shrugged it off.

"Come on, Hokage-sama!" She chirped merrily, "We can't have the old crones waiting. They'll think you're an incompetent leader, and we all know that's not true."

Naruto nodded and walked to the door, passing Shizune and gently taking his Rokudaime cloak from the coat stand and slipping it on. Itachi followed suit, pulling his own dark cloak from its peg and pulling the hood up. Itachi didn't have to be there for the meeting but Naruto knew there wouldn't be any other way he'd have it.

"Shall we, then?"

The group nodded, Sakura linking her arm with Naruto's and forcing Shizune to take the other side. As expected of the leader to Karasu, and therefore the Hokage's personal guard, Itachi walked two paces behind, Sharingan focused on the area around them.

He wouldn't put it past the council to try something before they got to the meeting – he only hoped they weren't that idiotic.

 **説明**

Sasuke walked. He wasn't sure where he was going, aside from back to Madara at the Akatsuki, and he wasn't sure how long he would continue to walk for, but he knew he couldn't stop until he had an idea settled in his brain.

Pein had been right; he was a failure. Everything had crumbled upon him; he hadn't captured Naruto, hadn't been able to help Pein in that either, had failed to kill his brother, had failed.

The pain was still there, being smothered like every other emotion with each step. Sasuke had to put it behind him and focus on his goals, the goals of Madara because he was the only family he had left and family had to stay together, and he had to get back at Madara for killing his family (or at least helping in the murder) and get back at Konoha for what they had done and-

But Madara wasn't the only family left, was he? He had Itachi now, an Itachi who was cleared of all charges and back home. An Itachi who was with Konoha, even if it wasn't completely open, and an Itachi who had offered him a place back at Konoha without any punishments.

Sasuke desperately wanted to run back to Konoha, turn back and throw himself into the arms of Itachi and hug his brother to death before turning on Naruto and hugging his best friend, but he couldn't. He loved them both yet hated them so much. Even if the love outweighed the hate, hate was a horrible emotion and it twisted itself, mutating and growing.

Sasuke stopped walking and thousands of emotions and memories washed over him; Itachi as the caring, loving brother, and Naruto as the idiotic best friend. Sasuke had known for a long time that what he felt for Naruto was beyond simple friendship status and also knew that he would never get Naruto in that way. What he felt was close to love, but as he couldn't remember exactly what love was (the only source of love being taken away when he was seven, and then his emotions regressing into anger and revenge) he didn't understand the differences between loving someone as a brother (which was more than a friend-love) or loving someone with full intent of marrying, settling down, etc.

He knew it was brotherly love he felt deep inside for Itachi, but that was only because it was an old bond from before his emotional wreck, and that Itachi was his brother. If anyone had even suggested that he loved Itachi in a romantic way he'd feel revolted. Itachi was a brother, secretly always had been and would always be, as he had said when they had faced each other.

A tree broke in half as Sasuke slammed his fist into the side, picking up his walking pace again. It was so much easier to pretend this was happening to someone else and forget, even for a little while. He was glad that he'd sent his team off on a fruitless search for Madara – who wouldn't show himself unless he wanted to – as he wanted this time to think, and he couldn't possibly lose composure in front of them.

He needed to stick to one path, his avenger path, now. It was too late to return to Konoha, too late for Naruto's empty promises of salvation. Sasuke was a cursed man, regardless to whether he carried Orochimaru's cursed seal now or not. That seal seeped into the heart of the carrier and it had touched Sasuke's so deeply that he knew he would never shake it off.

"Damn it," Sasuke hissed as droplets of blood moved down his knuckles from where he had hit the tree.

He couldn't return to Madara yet, the man would see the failures and think lower of him than he already did, comparing him still to the supposedly dead Itachi. He had to redeem himself in the man's eyes and what other way could he do that than completing the mission?

Then it struck him; Sasuke could complete the mission. Naruto trusted him, had shown that amount of trust when offering to accept him back to Konoha and that was a large amount of trust, hadn't initiated a memory technique to erase Itachi's existence from his mind and hadn't gotten Itachi to use his Sharingan to take the memories…

It was safe to say that Sasuke's plan was forming. It was a plan of betrayal – but hadn't they all been – and a plan that would set him upon his own throne by Madara, free to punish Konoha for all the evil the village had wrought.

Sasuke turned in his stride, not bothering to even inform his team of where he was going. They would only complicate things and how could he ask for sanctuary when showing up with enemies who wouldn't understand what he was supposed to do?

Out of the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw a dark snake slither into the bushes and he smiled. Even with Orochimaru gone and his team renamed, snakes would always sense his moods. He had failed multiple times in these past short weeks but now… now he was going to take the bull by the horns and bite its tender neck until it submitted.

No Uchiha did things halfway, after all.

 **説明**

Naruto sat patiently as he waited for the remainder of the group to file in. The procedure was just beginning and he looked down at the small sheet of paper with today's agenda scripted neatly upon it.

"Good morning, Hokage-sama," greeted one of the heads to the village's civilian council. It was comprised of ten villagers who would hold smaller meetings in their given area to discuss what would be brought up at the next meeting. Normally the Hokage wouldn't meet with the civilian council, the messages being passed on by the Advisors who would meet with them, but Naruto knew well enough that it was time to eradicate that particular rule.

"Thank you and good morning to yourselves." For once, Naruto made no correction to the term the man had used because he needed his authority to be known within this room. Inside here, he was the terribly powerful Rokudaime, the sixth Hokage to take the position. He was the son of the second most powerful Hokage (only seconded by his son, which no one could deny now) and friend to some of the most influential people on the earth.

"First of all, Hokage-sama," another member of the civilian council stood as the man sat down, holding a stack of papers in front of her, "We would like to discuss the damage on the village."

A murmur of agreement ran through the room and Naruto nodded.

"The central area of the village is completely irreparable and we will need to completely rebuild the buildings after the ground has been sorted out. From then, with the ground restored, it should take approximately eight weeks to rebuild the central area with committed task forces. We request that any ninja willing to help would do so and will take into account the hours of work so pay may be negotiated once we are rebuilt."

Naruto nodded, signalling that he would like to interrupt. The woman stopped talking and looked at Naruto in interest, clearly curious as to what he would say.

"I will send the best of our earth element users to help rebuild the ground, with your instructions, so that the rebuilding process can begin at once. I will also send some experts in to assist in fortifying the buildings but I can't allow a simple voluntary force to help. I will assign every Genin and most Chuunin to assist in the building but you will not have to worry about pay. We have enough to fund those who demand pay and I'm sure buying the materials will take a lot out of your council's funding."

The woman nodded and smiled, "Of course Hokage-sama. That will all be very much appreciated. With your authorisation, can we send some traders off to our stockists in the Fire Country?"

Naruto nodded, allowing the woman to dip her head and excuse herself from the room, no doubt going to tell the waiting traders that they should get going as soon as possible.

Next to him, Itachi ticked the first item off of the itinerary and shifted back in his seat. The next speaker, still from the village council, stood and nodded respectfully.

"Hokage-sama," he greeted before launching into his speech. "The outer areas of Konoha will need repairing, mainly and so we do not require assistance in that area. The work overall should be completed fully in four to six months and Konoha should be restored to her full greatness in that time. We will have some architects coming to discuss their plans for the central district and linking portions of the village and we wanted to know if you had any specific plans for the designs of the buildings. Our architects will individually be visiting the owners of houses from tomorrow onwards but we need your input for the more public buildings such as the main shops and libraries that can be put back together."

Naruto nodded, knowing that they wanted to know if he felt the village should stick to a classical look, like the old villages with swooping roofs and sliding doors, or a modern look, boxy structures and fresh designs. This was something that Naruto needed to handle and he made his promises to aide as much as he could in the upcoming developments.

"If you could please notify me when the upcoming council meetings will be taking place, whether it be to meet with architects or just among yourselves, I would like to be present."

The council nodded and finally took seat, allowing the ninja side to begin their points. First to speak was Mitokado Homura and he rose alongside Utatane Koharu.

"Firstly, we wish to hear at least some of the details concerning the Akatsuki leader's defeat."

They remained standing as Naruto nodded; it had been inevitable that they would ask for this particular information.

"Pein," Naruto had to make sure he used the correct name here otherwise he would confuse the people concerned, "Invaded Konoha with a small group before continuing to destroy the village, concentrating their attack to the central parts of Konoha where one member of the group executed a highly explosive technique which caused the ground to sink."

He had been filled in with information about what had happened during his time with Pein by Sakura and Shizune as they walked over so as to give a perfect account of what happened.

"Pein appeared directly to me and stationed one of his bodies over the Academy where he claimed some children had become stuck." A gasp was heard by a few members of the gathering, both from the villager's side and ninja side. None of them had expected even Pein to be as ruthless as threatening the children's lives.

"He asked for me to follow him quietly with the thought that I would rather he killed the children and kept the Kyuubi no Kitsune for myself. Contrary to his beliefs, I followed until we were out of the village where we were joined by one of the other members, Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto was expecting the outrage to that statement and allowed it for a few moments. Itachi stiffened beside him and Naruto decided enough was enough.

"You have to understand that I am speaking on a merely professional note here. Sasuke is my best friend, yes, but when I stepped inside this room all personal ties were cut. He is acting upon misjudged revenge to Konoha, fuelled by the man behind Akatsuki, but I will discuss this further in a moment."

Naruto paused and knew what had to be done when he would discuss Sasuke. Itachi knew it too and he nodded softly, a simple nod that spoke thousands to Naruto. Summoning up the courage he needed, the Hokage continued.

"I fought Pein, destroying all five of his bodies until I had the last one. It was evident that the metal implanted in his skin was a form of chakra transmitter and so it was clear, finally, that the real Pein – a man called Nagato – wasn't with me. The technicalities of the technique fails me, I'm afraid, but I was somehow able to see Nagato's death by the hands of the true Akatsuki leader, a man who should, by all accounts, be dead; Uchiha Madara."

Another gasp was heard as Naruto dropped this bombshell and he waited, again.

"This is why Uchiha Sasuke is currently with the Akatsuki. He has been told of the true events that transpired the night of the Uchiha massacre and Madara has managed to sway his mind into thinking that revenge is the best policy."

The group fell utterly silent and Homura and Koharu looked at Naruto in horror. They both glanced to Itachi, hidden beneath the cloak, wondering how the Uchiha could condone the story that was surely about to be told. A slight nod of the head sent the pair seating themselves, ashen faced and fearing for the outburst that would surely follow.

"The Uchiha clan were intent on overthrowing the rule of Hokage and taking Konoha for themselves. For various reasons, Madara hated his own clan for disobeying his protests to allow the Senjuu clan the right to take the Hokage seat. He left them sour, even more so at Konoha and set the Kyuubi no Kitsune to attack the village. His attempts were thwarted thoroughly by the Shodai."

Naruto skipped over most of the past technicalities, focusing instead on the true story at hand.

"The Uchiha clan believed they had placed a spy in the ANBU, their only connection to information about the village if you will. This spy was Uchiha Itachi-"

Naruto paused as an outcry of 'I knew it' became the general consensus. The public – both ninja and civilian – had never been told the technicalities of what happened, merely that the Uchiha clan had been massacred with only two survivors, one of which had become a missing Nin. There had been no confirmation of who had killed the clan but everyone knew it had been Itachi via the grape vine and speculation.

"Do none of you know how to hold your outbursts? It's rude to interrupt anyway but to do so during an important meeting that is essential for Konohagakure's future… please do not do it again." Naruto's voice was forceful, a reprimand to the people seated with him. They all shifted uncomfortable and he continued.

"What the Uchiha didn't know was that Uchiha Itachi had chosen his side. Many of you are aware of the war between Lightning and Konoha, am I correct?

The room murmured.

"Uchiha Itachi was a child, like many, born into the war. This changed many people's perspective and shaped Uchiha-san. Contrary to many beliefs, Uchiha Itachi became a pacifist, placing Konohagakure's stability before all else."

The room was deathly silent and Naruto was satisfied his story was getting through to them all. Sakura, beside him, was staring with wide eyes, amazed at how fluently Naruto could weave his story and the emotion behind his speech. She knew he accepted Itachi but hadn't known why. Knowing all of this made the Uchiha's presence so much more real, and even more amazing because of it.

"Uchiha-san became a double spy, allowing his clan to believe that he was spying for them when, the whole time, he was reporting their actions to the Sandaime. It was soon revealed that the Uchiha clan planned to overthrow the village and gain control, no doubt sparking not only a civil war, but one outside of the fire country too."

The room's mood sank as people began to make connections, evidently drawing to the same conclusion. It wasn't specifically needed but Naruto had to finish his story,

"Upon the approval of the Sandaime, Homura-san, Koharu-san and Danzou-san, Uchiha Itachi disposed of all but one member of the Uchiha clan after multiple failed attempts to dissolve the coup. Afterwards, Uchiha-san begged the Hokage to never reveal this information and to act as if it had been an unprecedented movement."

Shocked faced filled the room, mixed with regret as they realised the implication of Naruto's words. Uchiha Itachi was an innocent man who had secured Konoha where she was today. Without this man they would most likely be living in drudgery, forced into a war years before and never truly recovered from it. They could stand external walls, yes, but not knowing if your next door neighbour was suddenly going to turn into your murderer… that would have killed them all.

Without Itachi, they would have become a soulless, mistrustful village of deceit and lies.

"He joined the Akatsuki and continued to protect Konoha by many purposeful failed attempts to capture the Kyuubi for the organisation. He also goaded Sasuke to become stronger, attempting to dissuade his path of revenge. Not everyone can do such a mammoth task, especially as he had plenty of them, and Sasuke continued to hate."

The group nodded, sensing Naruto would be spilling more than one huge secret concerning the Uchiha clan at this meeting.

"I admit that I have not been entirely truthful concerning my account of the battle between them. It is knowledge that Uchiha Sasuke completed his specific revenge upon his elder brother, resulting in Uchiha Itachi's death." Bobbing heads were noted around the table – save for those who knew of Itachi's continued life – and Naruto nodded in return.

"I was part of the team that was sent to look for either or the Uchihas, targeting Itachi first. I met with him before their fight started and I can only assume his Mangekyou reacted to the Kyuubi's chakra and it showed me the truth to the massacre. Everything I knew about him crumbled to pieces and all I saw was a man who had resigned himself to practical suicide, a man who had an illness that would kill him if his brother somehow failed."

A few people gasped at that and Naruto carried on, hoping to end as soon as he could.

"He left after I expressed my wished to help him. I told him that I would be able to save him and convince Tsunade-sama to let him back to Konoha. He protected us all and all we had done was reject him from our company and hate him where we could.

"He was pronounced dead when Sasuke left with Madara. They didn't take the body and I found myself by Itachi before the remainder of the team I had begun with appeared. I made sure a clone was with them, of course, and took off to see if I could somehow save Itachi."

Some people could see where this was going (in particular Nara Shikaku) and nodded with a light smile, convincing Naruto to continue.

"Madara had forced the Kyuubi into an acceptance years before and so the Kyuubi was forced to heal any Uchiha who was wounded by the time I became sixteen, when I had reached my chakra maturity. This time, however, the Kyuubi accepted Itachi as a suitable match for his chakra and I helped to heal him, bringing Itachi back to life."

There were a number of small titters around the room as comments began but Naruto ploughed onwards, seeing the finishing line in sight.

"I returned to Konoha as the Rokudaime Hokage and with Uchiha Itachi as my companion. He was able to take the form of a raven so as to remain hidden but we both feel that now is not the time to conceal powers. Uchiha Itachi can help us win this war, especially as we will be facing two members of the Uchiha clan."

Even though they had been warned, people gasped as Itachi pulled his hood down, revealing an unmarked hitai-ite adorning his forehead. Naruto briefly wondered where he had found that when he remembered that he wasn't wearing his own. He suppressed a smile as he looked at the familiar black cloth that usually sat atop his forehead and couldn't help but congratulate Itachi mentally for his foresight.

"Madara has managed to convince Sasuke that all he needs to do to fulfil his revenge is destroy Konoha. Some of you may be worried that I will join him, seeing as I devoted most of my life to his protection alongside Konoha's, but your worries fall on deaf ears. My place is here with Naruto-sama and here where I can help protect Konoha."

Shock was the main factor in the room before Itachi had spoken yet now many people – mainly the ninja side – were recovering and assessing the man before them.

"I will submit myself to an inquiry with Ibiki-san and Inoichi-san if it is needed to prove my intentions and past."

Glances broke out across the room and Naruto watched with wary eyes. It could be possible that people would attack Itachi in disbelief but, as he looked around, the only threat to Itachi's acceptance was the two Advisors, which he had suspected anyway.

Most people hadn't knows details of the Uchiha Massacre and it was working in Itachi's favour. People had heard stories; a lot of them, but having Naruto explain what really happened with such emotion and conviction made any other thoughts about the Uchiha melt away. They truly believed him.

"I know this will take a while to sink in but I would like Itachi's identity to be kept silent for a little more time. I would like to adjourn the remainder of this meeting until later in the week, I'm sure you all have a lot to digest right now. If you have any further questions – or doubts about what I have said – please do not hesitate to speak to either Itachi or myself. We're trying to secure peace and we cannot do that with a lack of communication."

The group agreed and Naruto smiled to everyone.

"Thank you for all we have covered today."

It wasn't particularly late in the afternoon but Naruto knew most people who had been here would go home and sit down, staring into nothing for a few minutes before being confronted by a family member as to what was discussed. They would then solemnly shake their heads, admitting that they couldn't say, before smiling.

Itachi had brought them hope and they needed this hope to win the war.

When everyone had gone, the Advisors with a glare concentrated on their Hokage, Naruto slid down in his chair. There was organisation to be done, the office being a mess, and he told Itachi to go home before him.

"I'll see you later then, to hold you to our promise earlier." Itachi bent lower to whisper the next part, "Otherwise I'll come visit you and we can indulge in kinky sex on your desk."

Naruto flushed at the suggestion as Itachi chuckled, waving a hand behind him as he left. Naruto smiled when he was gone and gathered the half-completed agenda, making his way to his office.

The evening wasn't cool and yet Naruto had to suppress a shiver. Something would happen soon and the Hokage turned serious eyes to the mending of the entrance, hoping Konoha could withstand it.

 **Home**

 **a house, apartment, or other shelter that is the usual residence of a person, family, or household**

 **家**

Shaking his head suddenly, Naruto cleared all thoughts away. Of course something was going to happen that night; it always did when one was least expecting (or least hoping) but the 'something' in question didn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. After all, this 'something' could just be the sex he would partake in as soon as he got home. It could be that he would find a strange flower on his way home, and pluck it from the ground to place on the kitchen table. He could fall over on his way home, he could discover something in the files here… there were thousands of possibilities as to what could happen.

Taking a new piece of parchment out of the drawer, Naruto inked his quill – he had taken to using the feathers of Itachi-raven as a means to write, simply because it looked pretty cool – and began his list. He would use the information Nagato had given him to create a world worth living in; a world without wars, a world with happy families and untainted by the darkness in Madara's heart.

Mend relationships with other countries.

That had to be the first point. Aside from bumping off Madara, of course, and whatever members of the Akatsuki left (aside from Sasuke because Naruto was pretty sure that he – and his team – would be able to be saved, it just took a bit of time and effort), and then stabilising Konoha to a point where she was ready to start healing the world around her, there needed to be good terms between countries and it was vital.

Of course, this mending of relationships had been underway for years where Naruto was concerned; Gaara was one of his closest (even if they had only seen each other a handful of times) friends and now a colleague. The Lightning Country was probably his biggest problem at the moment, having to lie directly to the Raikage about his brother being dead, but Iwa would be just as hard.

Kumo understood Jinchuurikis, treated them as humans. Killerbee had told him one night that the only reason he didn't want to go back was because he had a duty there. It was a stifling duty, a duty he loved nonetheless, but he hadn't been able to express himself. Now that Yugito Nii wasn't there either, Bee had mentioned that the job wasn't as interesting. Naruto understood that the man was grieving for a kinsman and hated the politics him brother involved him in. Killerbee would return to Kumo, eventually, and on his own terms.

Iwa, on the other hand, had suffered huge blows in casualties at the beginning of the Third Secret Shinobi War, mainly from Konoha. They hadn't been innocent either, but Naruto knew how carefully he would have to tread. The name Namikaze was a household name in Iwa, not in the good sense either. Most war-scarred veterans would be pining for his blood, but Naruto would show them, eventually, that revenge was self destructive.

Naruto smiled at an intrusion in his mind and could tell that Killerbee had finally decided to grace him with his presence. Feeling it would be easier to drift to the place the Kyuubi had met with them last time, Naruto closed his eyes and focused on the tapping in his head.

Naruto, how are you?

Naruto looked at the tired eye next to him, eyes raking over the bloodshot white and the dilated pupil.

"I'm okay, Kyuubi. Did I put too much pressure on your abilities during my recent battle?"

If possible, the fox shrunk a little in size. Naruto knew it was only because the Kyuubi was resting his head on the ground, too weak at the moment to bear the weight of his enormous skull, but it didn't stop the visual illusion.

No, not at all; nothing in your battle affected me at all. I was surprised when I found out who you had been fighting, but I was also proud of you. The chakra is there, and you know it, but you chose to exhaust yourself by yourself. You're a proud, little fool, but you're a wonderful fool at the same time.

The fox paused, lips stretching a little in a mouthy smile.

I'm merely weak because I'm old. In this seal, I have restrictions in your body and you've suddenly adapted your chakra systems for Sage Chakra. It's a shock for my own chakra, which was already undergoing a purification process to mould to Itachi specifically. It's nothing that won't be over in a day or so, just remodelling of your chakra system if you will. A spring-clean, almost.

Naruto smiled and his hand grazed against a huge cheek bone.

"As long as you're well underneath the exhaustion. I need you, you batty fox, whether you want to realise that or not. That means you can't get ill on me, or die. And if the worst comes to worst, you tell me, okay?"

The Kyuubi chuckled before sighing and looking out into the darkness. He could feel the Hachibi no Kyogyuu in the darkness and, with him, Killerbee. He didn't have to wait too long; the kind, mad eyes of the demon ox peered out of the darkness, flickering upwards as soon as they focused on Naruto.

"Naruto!"

The call was jovial and Naruto couldn't help the smile that was brought to his lips. There was just something about this man that sent a laugh to his throat and a carefree feeling to his stomach.

"How have you been? I felt the connection and decided to pay a visit. A lot has happened since we last spoke."

Killerbee nodded, sliding down on the Hachibi's nose and onto the ground, standing before Naruto. The Hokage hadn't realised just how tall he was, and how muscular, and fought the urge to back away slightly just to see eye-to-eye.

An over exaggerated sigh brought his attention from huge biceps to the seven swords as Killerbee lay his weaponry down on the ground. They were impressive, sharpened and well cared for, and Naruto wondered how Killerbee looked in full battle.

Naruto knew Sasuke had fought him… had he feared this man from the depths of his heart? Killerbee was superior in power to Orochimaru and Naruto knew that Sasuke felt no fear against that bastard… but Killerbee wasn't just superior in power, he was a whole other level.

Sasuke had gone against a man who was in harmony with the Bijuu sealed within him. The only other times he had been against a Jinchuuriki was during the Chuunin exam and Gaara, and then against Naruto before he had left.

Sasuke had been doing well against Gaara, but when Gaara had used Shukaku, the competition had been too much even for the Uchiha. Gaara, at that stage, was trained to use his demon, accepted his demon even if he hated it. They were in harmony to an extent, untrained and uncultured harmony, but they could still work.

Against Naruto, Sasuke had used his full cursed seal. Naruto hadn't understood the Kyuubi's power much at that point and the transformation seemed gangly. The blond knew he hadn't been in harmony with the Kyuubi then, hadn't accepted the fox for what he was and the fox most definitely hadn't accepted him.

That was what almost everyone else failed to realise; the Bijuu weren't just chakra stores, they were potential partners. They needed to be understood in order for the chakra to be used in a safe way, in a way that would help. Naruto couldn't speak for any other Jinchuuriki, but he understood this and it was easy to see why.

The Kyuubi had always been seen as a monster, even to Naruto. Even coming back from his training trip with Jiraiya had resulted in the Kyuubi's chakra attempting to connect with his own, ending in the malicious intent overpowering him, creating the 'Kyuubi Shroud'. Now that he had conversed humanely with the Kyuubi, and that the fox had chosen a mate for his chakra, as it were, in Itachi, he had calmed. The chakra that had been spiked with blood and death was now calming down, under the careful actions and bonding of Naruto and Itachi.

The only reason why the Kyuubi's chakra needed the extra person for the bonding and calming, unlike any of the other Bijuu, was because of what Madara had forced into him, what the Uchiha had twisted and forced his chakra to turn into. Itachi was healing this, returning the red chakra into a calming ruby.

If Sasuke had been against Naruto, and Naruto had understood the Kyuubi as he did now, then he would have won, without a doubt. Jinchuuriki weren't only feared because they had a huge tailed beast within them; it was what they could do with such amazing strength and power if they managed to control it.

Or be unable to control it.

"Hey, beasties, you seem to be able to control this space. How 'bout 'ya fix us up some chairs or somethin'?"

The Kyuubi grumbled under his breath as the Kyogyuu dipped his head, nose nearing the place where Naruto and Killerbee were standing. Automatically, Killerbee's hand rested on the dark nose and the ox snorted lightly through his nostrils, two chairs appearing in the space between the two tailed animals.

"Thanks beastie."

The ox pulled away, satisfied. Naruto smiled his thanks and a tentacle wiggled its way upwards a little in a small wave. Urged on by Killerbee's smile, Naruto waggled his own fingers in reply and rolled his eyes at the grumbling still continuing behind him.

"Why 'ya so moody, foxy?"

The Kyuubi raised his head a little, something that Naruto knew took a great effort for him to do.

Unlike some whelps, I am a very old Bijuu. My chakra is adapting to Naruto and cleansing itself of a taint laid onto it decades ago. Unlike your Bijuu, I have no tentacles so simply lopping off chakra and then relocating it is a little harder than what it is for him.

The words seemed irritated but Naruto – and Killerbee – knew that the Kyuubi was simply explaining something in his own, unique way. The fox lowered his head again, looking to the Hachibi.

Teach your Bumblebee some manners. He may wield swords like they're nothing more than flowers, but he's lacking simple grace. Elocution lessons, I suggest.

The two humans broke into laughter at the haughty suggestion, and were soon joined by the huffing of the Hachibi and a small, wry smile from the Kyuubi. Naruto's eyes softened as he noticed the Kyuubi closing his own pair, no doubt resting from the small movements he had made.

"So, Naruto, it seems 'ya been busier than little ole me, maybe 'ya should start off."

Naruto nodded, settling himself in the Hachibi's chair. It was pleasantly comfortable, with a cushioned seat and back that conformed to his shape, even if he knew he was still technically sitting behind the Hokage desk.

"Akatsuki sent in the Rinnegan user with the team you took on. Turns out that Pein, the Rinnegan user, wasn't too bad a guy and regretted what he'd done, pretty much. He entrusted peace to me and I damned well hope to carry it on."

Killerbee nodded before speaking, "And what of the baby Uchiha? He was overly confident against us, wasn't he beastie? Turned out that he wasn't so great in the end; he assumed too much."

"You've heard of Uchiha Itachi, haven't you?"

Killerbee chuckled, it was a redundant question. The person who hadn't heard of Itachi was the one living under a rock.

"For various reasons, he wasn't what everyone thought and I saved him. Sasuke thought he was dead and so took a bit of a shock at seeing his older brother on the side he ditched years ago."

Killerbee nodded, rather than reacting too much. He explained his reaction to Naruto,

"It was always my brother's job to deal with the politics in life, keeping updated on who did what and why… especially large political movements. The eradication of the Uchiha clan, the policing force of Konoha, was a major political movement and so it was documented, even with small details. I didn't care much for the clan myself; I don't like older clans, too up themselves, and I respected Uchiha Itachi purely because he managed such a job on his own."

Naruto's lip twitched at that as he caught the hidden message; Killerbee didn't judge people based on what he had heard, and respected aspects of everyone even if they had a heart of stone. Naruto could use a good example; he respected Orochimaru's dedication to his task and the way he had prevailed in it… though that had no meaning in the way of liking the man, or even thinking he was respectable overall.

"Konoha didn't react to Itachi's massacre and they could have taken him down with a team big enough. He's human; he'd tire eventually… but nothing. Something was dodgy, my brother moaned about it constantly when we were younger, but it trailed away, eventually. 'Ya here today, telling me that Itachi ain't as bad as he's seen publically? Not too much of a shock."

Naruto considered the words and found they weren't as illogical as one might suspect. There had been something dodgy with the Massacre of the Uchiha and this suspicion hadn't just been contained within Konoha.

"So the baby Uchiha's unsettled, eh? What's this mean for you, Naruto? If he was originally sent to get 'ya beastie, then why did he ditch? He'll come back, is what I think. Where are you now?"

Naruto noticed the distinct change in Killerbee; instead of the carefree manner in which he carried himself, his eyes darkened and he fingered one of his blades lightly. His voice and mannerisms concerning speech were the same, yet Naruto knew the meaning. Killerbee was his brother, of sorts, and would protect Naruto to the best.

"I'm in the Hokage tower, finishing up some work before bed. Itachi will come to me if it gets too late and I'm more than capable of taking care of Sasuke."

Killerbee was silent and the only sound was the slight snorting as the Kyogyuu breathed.

"I know you are," and Naruto knew he honestly meant it. "But he ain't the same kid 'ya knew. Hell, Hachibi here had to sacrifice a hell of a lot of chakra and a tentacle for us just to get rid of him. 'Ya just come out of a huge battle against Pein and 'ya gonna be needing rest. He'll use every opportunity against 'ya, Naruto, just be careful."

Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly as silence took over them again.

"And if 'ya need help, bloody well call for it."

Naruto chuckled, half humorously, before rising out of his chair.

"I best be getting back. I'll be meeting with your brother soon to discuss the relationships between our countries. He'll want to know if I've heard anything… he misses you. Even if he was more concerned with politics before I think he'll accept you back properly now. I'm not asking you to do it, just think about it maybe."

Killerbee shook his head before shrugging, dismissing the comment. Naruto's eyes softened, wishing that he had the same bonds that Killerbee forsook so easily because of some petty actions (or so it seemed) before remembering that he did have those bonds, in the man before him and in Sasuke, however much the man tried to sever them. He had thousands of brothers, and sisters, back at Konoha and was sure that Killerbee just needed some more time to himself.

Naruto wouldn't allow himself to ask mountains of people. Like Itachi realised now, he wouldn't force someone into something because of what looked right. Everyone was free to make their own choices, own decisions, and the Hokage would promote this.

"Take care, Naruto. Remember what I mentioned before… if Itachi really has a relationship with you then Sasuke's probably feeling bitter. Confused, angry and hurt, and 'ya the one he'll take it out on. Just be careful, I want to meet 'ya back here another time. Our beasties need company, and it wouldn't be nice to leave old Hachibi here alone."

Naruto waved as he glanced to the Kyuubi, bidding the fox a goodbye silently. His blue eyes closed and, once reopened, he was met by the view of the door out of the Hokage office. Nothing had been disturbed since he had met with Killerbee but almost half an hour had passed, if the clock on his desk was anything to judge by.

With a light sigh, Naruto stood and walked round the desk once to stretch his legs and collect a few stray papers that had fallen from his desk. Glancing out of the window and at the moon now proudly in the sky, Naruto knew he would have only a little time before Itachi showed up, and returned with the intent to finish his work.

 **家**

Slipping back into Konoha was harder than it looked. People were milling about, even at this time, in makeshift tented camps, obviously refugees from the destruction, and Shinobi patrolled the outermost areas in groups, uncommon unless in times of war.

Sasuke pulled flush against the wall again as a Genin tem (thankfully) walked past, chatting quietly amongst themselves. For a few seconds, Sasuke watched them, the two boys and a girl, as they shared smiles, no doubt a product of the trust between them, trust Sasuke had forsaken along with every other emotion so long ago.

Could he trust anyone now? He certainly couldn't trust Madara; his ancestor would turn on him in moments if he could. No one had been trustworthy in his time at Orochimaru's hideouts, and before that he hadn't trusted anyone on his team aside from Naruto.

Kakashi had been a person that could have become someone he trusted, until the fateful skirmish on top of the hospital roof. Kakashi had made it clear then that he wanted Sasuke to grow up, let go of his revenge, even to the point of threatening him.

It had been for his own good, Sasuke admitted that, but the threat had hurt more than he would have liked to admit.

No, Naruto had been the only one he trusted, still did until Itachi had stepped by him. Naruto had been the only person in the world to follow him, like a beast to its master (which was true – according to Madara); devoted to the cause that was 'Saving Sasuke'.

It had fallen through, finally, as Sasuke had always encouraged… and he missed it. He missed Naruto, he missed Konoha underneath all the lies, he missed having a home to return to and he found himself missing Itachi.

Sasuke was different to his elder brother in the fact that he most likely wouldn't have put Konoha over the clan… but he understood why Itachi did it, or at least would understand it if it had happened to someone else. If Itachi hadn't been his brother, had been, for example, a Hyuuga and the Hyuuga clan were threatening the safety of the village… Sasuke would begrudgingly understand

But it had happened to the Uchiha clan. Itachi was his brother. Naruto had accepted Itachi back… and part of Sasuke wanted back as well.

It had been offered.

And he was so tempted to accept…

… But that wouldn't stop Madara. A cold, hard glint entered Sasuke's eyes as he took to the shadows, darting from fellow Shinobi and breathing in relief when he realised it was only Genin and the occasional Chuunin on patrol.

The Hokage tower was swamped in darkness, as expected of this time. A solitary light was on, near the top of the structure, and Sharingan focused on its target, knowing full well that Naruto was seated inside that very room.

Sending a small summon ahead, a snake (hardly conspicuous but necessary and easier than a Bunshin because that would have been far too recognisable), Sasuke was able to advance at a slow pace, eyes shifting between shadows and light as he found thousands of escape routes, planning in the event of something going wrong.

He knew that now was the best time for attacking Naruto. He would be weakened by the fight against Pein, even after the recovery time, and he had already offered Sasuke a redeeming card, a chance to come back to Konoha.

Sasuke wouldn't be taking it, but that didn't mean that he didn't have to pretend. He could be an actor at times, and now he would have to try to surpass Itachi's secrecy and lure Naruto into his clouded silver lining.

Sasuke's pale hands graced along the edge of the wall as he walked slowly, following the dark coloured chakra trail his snake had left behind. Upon instinct, Sasuke activated the Mangekyou Sharingan, curved tomoes spanning and reforming into the pattern he represented.

It wouldn't be long until he met with Naruto, an inevitable confrontation where he would take the Kyuubi back to Madara and finally the restlessness within him would end. Madara would be proud, Konoha and Itachi would be distraught and Naruto would be a past best forgotten.

It was so simple. It had to be.

Sasuke ignored the pointed voice in the back of his head the asked him if it was so simple, then why did he feel so dirty and guilty about what he was going to do?

The feeling mounted as he strode down the corridor, walking pathways that he had walked countless times before and ducking out of sight when the odd straggler Shinobi walked by, too tired to notice the expert hider in the shadows.

The snake he had summoned was called back to its realm as Sasuke mounted the final set of stairs. Much like a snake himself, Sasuke surveyed the area in warning before proceeding, tasting the air with his Sharingan in attempt to see the colour of chakra around him.

When he was sure there was none around, Sasuke opened the final door that led to the floor of the Hokage's office. He didn't even bother with shadows now, walking freely as his cloak gathered around him, confident in his ability.

He smirked as he realised that he was full confident for the first time in ages, since before the Hachibi. Adrenaline began to course through his veins and Sasuke inhaled deeply.

It was certainly good to be home.

 **家**

A raven hopped around on the sofa, testing the cushions with delicate talons, careful not to puncture the fabric. A second scour of the seat revealed the particular place, and the reason why Itachi was currently in his raven form.

The perks to being a shape shifter, in this manner, allowed Itachi to maintain his weaponry in human stasis, and so when he morphed back into a human, a kunai was gripped in his palm, slashing neatly into the red sofa.

With a nod, the Uchiha narrowed his eyes and activated the Sharingan, locating the source of discomfort. The spring had been digging into his thigh for a long period of time and, as with most problems, Itachi had decided to confront it head on, heating the coil gently with basic knowledge of fire Jutsu and reshaping it.

The spring back to its manufacturing shape and set back in place, Itachi pushed any stuffing that had rearranged itself and blindly stretched his hand out to the coffee table next to him, picking up the thin needle and red thread.

It had been Mikoto, his mother, who had taught him the art of sewing. On the days when Fugaku had trained him particularly harshly – or in later life when he was resting after a mission, stuck in bed with injuries – Mikoto would come in with her smile, wordlessly passing her son the handkerchief he had been embroidering or the patchworks needed to mend clothes.

Mikoto had taught and Itachi had willingly learnt. There was a fine art to stitching and, while he was far from mastery, Itachi could pattern cloth to a fair degree of beauty, certainly for a handkerchief.

The handkerchief he had been most proud of had been his six year old gift to his father, a birthday present for him, urged on by the heavily pregnant Mikoto who didn't want Itachi to feel left out just because they were having another child.

A dull ache and tears had spread over Itachi's when he found the Sharingan pattern he had embroidered into the flowers on the handkerchief lying in the fireplace, most already singed to ash by the fire Fugaku had thrown it into.

And so Itachi had simply thrown himself into his work, graduating the following year and seemingly becoming everything the Father of the Uchiha Clan wanted in a son.

Before he stabbed him in the back, quite literally.

Stitching up the tear in the cushion was easy work and took little more than a couple of minutes, but it was the prick on his thumb that caused him to start, looking down at the small droplet of blood and unable to stop the drop curving over his thumb pad, dripping into a perfect circle on the stitching. Although the sofa was red, a darker circle now leapt out at Itachi and he frowned.

It was an odd occurrence and he had stopped using a thimble a few months after starting his embroidery; Mikoto had praised him for constantly having control over the needle and he had never pricked his thumb (or any other finger for that matter) aside from tonight.

This meant, Itachi thought as he dropped the needle onto the coffee table and launched into his avian form, that something was terribly wrong. Itachi had never been the one to forgo important superstitions and there was no reason whatsoever to have caused the needle to slip; he hadn't even been sewing at that point.

Even if he was wrong, it was better to be safe than sorry.

 **家**

Naruto drummed his fingers on the table, mulling over unimportant things and distracting himself from the deathly-important-but-oh-so-boring document in front of him. He glanced out of the window and sighed at the moon, wishing that he could postpone this reading and knowing that it was better to get it done. If he didn't do it now, he never would, and it really was important.

Itachi hadn't been by yet but Naruto wasn't too concerned by that. Knowing the Uchiha, he was fixing broken furniture (yes, he had been complaining about it for a while now) or cleaning some of the rooms they didn't use up.

Naruto tensed suddenly, eyebrows knotting together as someone approached the door. He could tell it was a Shinobi, the chakra was too unrefined for it to belong to a Kunoichi, and too powerful for a civilian. It was masked well, yes, but Naruto had a bonus; the Kyuubi was able to sense chakras thanks to the constant Uchiha pressure and the use of the Sharingan.

The man was getting closer, carefully prowling the corridor yet with a purpose, almost as if it was someone cautiously looking out for threats, focusing on secrecy, almost afraid as to what lay behind the Hokage's door.

Waiting patiently, hands folded on his desk and back upright, Naruto focused his attention on the door, allowing the presence of the Kyuubi's mark on his arm to warm him, Sage Chakra caressing the skin there. He hadn't been able to see the mark since he had used Sage Chakra and figured that it would only show when he used that specific chakra, a warning stripe as certain wild animals have to remind predators that they were poisonous.

Which he was really; he was dangerous but push further than the Sage Chakra and you would meet the heart of a Bijuu, the anger of the Kyuubi.

The person approached the door and Naruto's knuckles whitened as he pressed his hands together, anticipation moulding as the handle turned. The door opened a little and Naruto's eyes narrowed as he saw the curvature of the Sharingan, eyes glinting as they scanned the room, sensing for any other chakra forms. Light hit the figure and exposed him, leaving Naruto calmly fighting the urge to move across the room.

"It's nice to see you, Sasuke."

 **Descend**

 **to go or pass from a higher to a lower place; move or come down**

 **降りる**

As Sasuke stepped into the room, Naruto imagined him as a caged lion, cornered and beaten to a resolve, a madness lying in his dark eyes as he stalked towards the desk.

"Sasuke," Naruto repeated gently, standing from his chair and placing one hand on the desk, hesitant at the peace offering he made. His blue eyes remained focused on Sasuke's face, attempting to draw the Sasuke he knew out of the wild man before him.

"Naruto," Sasuke greeted softly, his voice unwavering and foregoing of the respect most people showed upon Naruto's rise to the Hokage position. No matter how many times the blond had requested people to throw away their traditions – he was, after all, still Uzumaki Naruto under the cloak – civilians and ninja alike would proudly bear his name as Hokage, their voice glowing with respect Naruto wasn't sure he deserved half of the time.

"It's good to see you again, we have all missed you."

The statement was a buffer, a toe in the waters to test where the conversation was headed. Naruto wanted Sasuke back in Konoha for good, but he was unsure whether Sasuke was here for himself or on Madara's behalf.

"Sakura, for one, never gives up. I made her a promise; you know... a foolish promise at the time but one that can still be hoped to be achieved."

Naruto gestured to the chair in front of his desk and waited for Sasuke to seat himself. Once the dark haired man was sitting, Naruto lowered himself, adjusting his cloak and smoothing out the creases on his lap. For once, he was glad that he had worn the cloak and not shrugged it off; Sasuke had always had the ability to make him feel strangely insubordinate, no matter what he did.

What many people didn't realise was that Naruto craved Sasuke's approval and acceptance more than any other. Sasuke was a brother to him, someone he loved unconditionally and a member of his family. Naruto had never had a mother or a father to show his small achievements to, and he had hoped to share that with Sasuke. Whenever they had trained together, it had always been Sasuke who had pushed him further, and it was for Sasuke that he had become who he was, in more ways than one.

For one, he wouldn't have been as motivated when training with Jiraiya, and Jiraiya wouldn't have known the exact buttons to press in order for Naruto never to give up. For another, Itachi wouldn't be here in Konoha, and Konoha would have lost an invaluable resource. Naruto couldn't imagine life without either Uchiha now and strengthened his resolve to save Sasuke, in any shape, size or form.

"I would offer tea, but I fear that it's becoming rather late. Perhaps we should postpone this conversation until we both have a decent nights rest and-"

"I call for sanctuary."

Naruto's jaw slackened, his lower lip resting against the bottom of his two front teeth. Sasuke's words were better than he could have hoped but was it that easy? Sasuke was so bent on revenge and for him to give it up seemed strange.

"Why?"

Blunt questions would be the best way forward, least Naruto give away any of his true emotions. Sasuke was probably relying on the old Naruto's emotional outbursts if he was going to try anything, and Naruto had learnt to cope professionally, with his own spin on things. He could be calm, collected and respectful and still wasn't afraid to shed tears, blood or sweat when needed.

"Uchiha Madara's a mad man, though I'm sure you know that already." Sasuke cast a pointed look in his direction, "You seem to have an ability to know things that should be hidden from you, or perhaps you just cannot contain yourself to keep your nose out of other people's business."

Sasuke's voice had turned to a hiss and it was easy to see how much Orochimaru had influenced the Uchiha in his younger years. Sasuke was probably unaware of how deeply rooted he was to his mentor (because in reality, Orochimaru had been Sasuke's mentor... not the best mentor, per se, but still an influential adult in the teenage years) but it shone through when Sasuke had low control over his emotions.

Naruto was tired, and he knew Sasuke would be tired too. They had fought not too long ago, and Sasuke had faced emotional upheaval during the fight upon seeing Itachi. To see someone you loved deeply, and had denied yourself that love for almost a decade, someone you had believed you would never see again because they were dead by your hand, it was incomprehensible. The only thing Naruto had close to that was finding out Minato was his father, and he hadn't seen the Yondaime, only stared blankly when Jiraiya enquired if he was okay.

"As a Hokage to Konoha it's my duty to step up where my predecessors have failed." Sasuke looked as if something sour had entered his mouth and Naruto continued gently, "But as a friend, I have to have everything at my arsenal that will get you back home. If that means that I dig deeper than the average shinobi, then I'll do it."

Taken aback by the reply and truth in Naruto's voice, Sasuke returned to the image of a caged lion. He shifted in his seat, eyes flickering to the broken window and then to the door, turning his head a little so that the door handle was just in his periphery. Naruto knew he was counting his exits, should anything go wrong, and doubted Sasuke's plea for sanctuary again.

"Madara's on the move. He'll have no doubt found out about Pein's defeat, and he'll be after you next Naruto."

Naruto nodded, understanding that Sasuke was offering this information as a show of trust. If he hadn't known it already, the Hokage might have been impressed with the political skill Sasuke showed, gently prodding towards what he wanted, but as it stood, he knew Madara was coming, had seen it for himself even, and this information was useless.

"I know. He'll want to be doing the job on his own initiative, perhaps the remainder of your team and Zetsu will be joining him? Perhaps not... after all, I do remember his disposition to doing things right, and the only way that could happen was by doing them himself."

Sasuke was momentarily ungrounded, as if he had been swept from the land below him. Obviously he hadn't expected Naruto to know this information, or the names of the Akatsuki still together. He had underestimated this Kage and was slowly losing against him.

"You have nothing I need, Sasuke. What I want, however, if for you to come back without bargaining chips. You evidently feel that I have something against taking you back into Konoha, the way you're trying to buffer with information, but what happened to me being your friend? Surely if you trusted me as you claim you do by asking for sanctuary, all you need to do is ask."

Naruto stood, eyes narrowing as he reduced the lion in Sasuke to an alley cat, fur spiked up with hissing fangs and drawn claws. As always, Naruto knew exactly how to rile Sasuke up, manipulate him softly until he would reveal what was needed. It wasn't what he wanted to do; heaven's knows that the blond wanted Sasuke to live for himself, what with all the people who had pushed and pulled at him to get him where he was today, but it was what he needed to do as a leader.

Naruto could no longer squander his time on Sasuke, he had to think primarily of Konoha, and them himself. Although he wanted nothing more than to bring Sasuke back home, if it would damage Konoha then the likelihood that Sasuke would be staying was narrow. If his intentions were revealed, i.e. if he was working for Madara, or on his own back, Naruto would be able to make the decision. Until then, however, prodding, pushing and manipulation, subtle arts Sasuke believed him incapable of, was necessary.

"As Hokage I was afraid you would see me as a threat to your village. What else could I do but offer you all I had in order to be taken into safety? I've lived a life of restlessness for years now, Naruto, and I've made my peace with Konoha. I want..." Sasuke trailed off as his throat tightened. He lowered his head, and if Naruto believed him incapable of tears, he would have been shocked.

He knew better though; Sasuke was as human as himself and had even more reason to cry than others. Every single emotion was wrapped up tightly, locked in his chest. Mentioning his wants, or more correctly, his needs, shook these emotions loose. It wasn't hard to assume what Sasuke wanted after this.

"I want to make my peace with Itachi. I'm not saying we can forgive and forget fully but... I want... I want..."

A cloud outside passed from where it had been blocking the moon, and moonbeams entered the broken window, the remaining spikes of glass that rested in the window frame catching the light and sparkling slightly, the light throwing hundreds of spots on the walls around them. For a moment, Naruto had the childish urge to turn the lights off in his office and simply watch the glittering spots as they danced around him, but by then the clouds had moved again, another covering the moon and cutting off the light to the glass.

As the spots died, Sasuke wiped his cheeks and Naruto softened his face. He felt sorry for Sasuke; he really did, and moved round his desk. Sasuke needed him, and though a small voice in the back of his head reminded him of how good an actor the Uchiha was, Sasuke needed him more.

Naruto was beside Sasuke in a moment, wrapping his arms round the shaking shoulders of his best friend. For a split second, everything was thrown back years, back to when Sasuke and Naruto hadn't even thought about anyone called Uchiha Madara, back to when Naruto had been content with just a handful of people to call his family.

Times had changed drastically, but it felt right to just hold Sasuke as he recovered from whatever thoughts had plagued his mind. Sasuke was still a lost boy, nearly seventeen and already well experienced with death and things that would make even a seasoned ninja tear their mind out. No teenager should be forced to go through the loss of a family, and then the destruction of everything he had wanted or craved.

Not once during his thoughts had Naruto considered himself in the same position as Sasuke, even though he was a few months younger. It didn't matter, Naruto was used to dealing with years on his shoulders and was years older than reality, but Sasuke didn't have the same advantages or outlook on life. Sasuke needed someone to offer a hand, as Iruka, Kakashi, Sakura and Sasuke had so many years before.

Sasuke's head moved up as the room darkened, more clouds covering the moon and a wind picking up. The arms on Naruto's arms raised and he fought the instinctive urge to pull back, even when Sasuke snuck his own arms around his back, tightening to an almost uncomfortable position.

"It's for the best," was whispered into the shell of Naruto's ear and he attempted to look into Sasuke's eyes for clarification. A roll of thunder sounded a way away from Konoha and Naruto cast his gaze outside, defeated eyes hollowing as Sasuke's words hit home. He was too tired to escape the hold of Sasuke's arms and slumped over when the handle of a kunai knocked into the back of his neck.

I'm sorry Itachi, I'm sorry Kyuubi... Sorry Sakura, Tsunade, Iruka, Kakashi... Sai. I'm so sorry, Killerbee.

Naruto felt his breathing slow as his vision clouded, the room erupting in hundreds of blunt sparkles, the glass echoing his own very desires. It wasn't long before Naruto's head clouded fully, his eyes becoming riddled with black spots, and it wasn't long before a cloud had covered the moon once again.

As the glass remained just glass, no magnificent display of colour or glimmer of dance, Sasuke looked down on the one man he had depended on to save him through his life.

"You can't help me anymore, Naruto. No one can."

Sasuke picked Naruto up in his arms, the blond head rolling against his chest as if he was a small child, and the Uchiha turned towards the window, collecting himself for the rush of air that would greet him as he left the room. It was time for him to face Madara once again.

 **降りる**

Killerbee was known for being a joker away from the fight and a frightful amusement in it. It was something he was respected for, the ability to laugh almost all the time, and it was something he hated with a passion. No one except Yugito had understood the need to lose contact with everything, to get away and just live, rather than laughing all day just so he could stay sane.

He loved his brother deeply, and was thankful for everything he had done as Raikage to promote the wellbeing of Jinchuurikis, protecting them and changing public opinion from outrage and hatred into respect and gratefulness. After Yugito had died, a huge memorial service that had taken two weeks to prepare, and three days to complete had taken grip of the country, every single household entering the procession in respect for his sister-in-arms. If it hadn't been for Yugito, Killerbee knew he would have abandoned his village years before. Yugito had believed in protecting the village, walking around with a permanent smile as she passed the children of the village, confiding in him late one night as they were camped at the borders of the village, warding off a possible attack, that she would love, one day, a little girl and a little boy of her own.

In the Lightning village, Yugito had known she wouldn't die alone. It was different for a male to be a Jinchuuriki; Yugito had confessed one night that every one of her friends were either pregnant or about to have children. Killerbee was happy with his status as a shinobi, but for a kunoichi to deny herself a family... that was different.

Anywhere else but the Lightning village would Yugito be unable to bear children. Most people either believed that the beast inside of them could be passed on in their genes, or were too afraid of the Jinchuuriki to even consider a relationship.

Yet here in Lightning, Yugito had been between relationships, breaking from her last boyfriend because he had expressed his interests not to have children just yet. Yugito was ready to have a child, or at least would have been once the Akatsuki were gone. She had wanted to be with her future husband for a few years before actually having a baby, and by then she had hoped that the threat that her Bijuu possessed would be redundant, thanks to the abolition of the Akatsuki.

During her memorial, Killerbee had been alone. He had sat alone in the temple they used to share, singing stupid songs to himself about the times when Yugito had messed something up, or he had done something idiotic.

He still missed her. There had always been a possibility that one of them wouldn't come back from whatever mission they were on, there always was, regardless if you were a Jinchuuriki or not, but he had never expected the Akatsuki to move so ruthlessly and quickly.

At the present moment in time, Killerbee was wondering somewhere between Konoha, the small country of Grass and Amegakure. There wasn't a neighbouring village around, as planned, but he was on his way to the village of Sound. Killerbee knew that it had been influenced by Orochimaru, but the best way to market his songs would be to start off in a musically talented area at least. If that plan failed, then there were the other big countries surrounding and he could easily travel there.

He would eventually return to Kumogakure, just not yet. Everything was too taxing, having to protect a whole country and then having any small offence blamed on a weakness he had? Even his brother had taken to blaming things on Killerbee and he had begun to resent the village.

Killerbee didn't want to tarnish Yugito's view on the world, and certainly didn't want to betray what little he had left to give, for her sake. He would only be gone for a while, time to reconcile his reasons for protecting the people of Kumo, and give him time to both recover and pursue other interests, namely his musical talent.

So, here he was, wading through dense grassland and humming merrily to the cattle around him. More than once had a heifer looked up curiously, eyes blinking intelligently to work out whether he was a threat or not, to which Killerbee had dipped into the Hachibi's chakra, settling any of the cattle's qualms about how dangerous he might be. The animals were calmed by the presence of the ox and Killerbee continued onwards peacefully, smiling as he saw the young calves galloping across the fields, spindly legs criss-crossing as gangly races were made between them.

The night was closing in and Killerbee settled himself under a nearby tree, satisfied that he would be comfortable here for the night. With nothing on his back but the very clothes he wore and his weaponry, Killerbee was happy to just camp out under a tree. When he got to the next village, he would bathe, pick up a new set of clothes to wear while his others were going through a thorough clean and then carry on his journey. It was simple, really, and ingenious.

Settling down and getting to sleep proved harder than one might have thought. No matter which position or angle he aligned himself, something was niggling in the back of his mind, and it could not be got rid of.

Deciding that he wanted sleep before the sun rose, Killerbee decided to talk about it with his Bijuu, hoping that it would sooth whatever itch needed scratching. Imagining the feel of the Hachibi and the room where they spoke with Naruto, Killerbee shut his eyes, only to open them seconds later and find himself resting between the Kyogyuu's eyes.

Velvety eyelashes opened slowly and a huge, circular pupil stared up at him.

"It's nice to see you, Bee, but what brings you here?"

The Kyogyuu's voice was soft and deep, a gentle lullaby that could turn to a ferocious bellow when the time arose. Killerbee slid off of the ox's nose to land in front of him, making the Bijuu cross his eyes to see the Jinchuuriki. Shaking his head gently, the Kyogyuu turned his head to the side, looking at Killerbee with his left eye.

"Something's bothering me, beastie. I dunno what it is, but it won't leave us alone."

They pondered in silence for a moment before a shattering image of Naruto appeared before them. It was hazy, as though subconsciously he had entered this domain, and the Kyuubi behind him continues to slumber unaware of his Jinchuuriki's appearance. Killerbee glanced towards the Hachibi, wondering if this was a regular occurrence in this space, but the way that the ox was looking at the shape made him doubt that.

Naruto appeared to be bending slightly over something or someone, his eyes outstretching around whatever it was, as if comforting the shape. He looked as if he was drawn closer to the person (it had to be a person, Killerbee concluded, after all Naruto hardly went around hugging rocks now, did he?).

The pair watched as Naruto's head ducked a little, eyes skimming over to what one could presume was an object in the room, before they darkened a little, his face falling.

Killerbee was moving towards Naruto before he realised what he was doing, watching in horror as his brother's body crumpled to the floor, eyes closing slowly. A voice echoed around the space, waking even the Kyuubi, who looked at the materialising body of Naruto with narrowed eyes.

"I'm sorry Itachi, I'm sorry Kyuubi... Sorry Sakura, Tsunade, Iruka, Kakashi... Sai. I'm so sorry, Killerbee."

At the sound of his voice, Killerbee looked over to the Hachibi, who nodded gently, a tentacle creeping forwards cautiously, as if to ward any danger to his host away. The image of Naruto was becoming clearer, solidifying and panning out into Naruto himself. Though he was here, he was still unresponsive and it was from the Kyuubi that they got their explanation,

"It seems that Uchiha Sasuke strives to betray all the people dear to him. Naruto let his guard down on an act of good faith and it led him to this. I would stick to my resolve that the whole clan are worthless but there is one, just one, who is worth more than I could give him."

Killerbee didn't quite understand to whom the Kyuubi was referring yet moved to Naruto's side, concern spreading across his features as he noticed that the blond seemed in pain.

"What's happening to 'ya?" He whispered, eyes searching for anything he could do to relieve some of Naruto's condition.

"He's beyond your help here. If you did want to do anything it would be to intervene before Madara gets to him. Once Naruto is in the Akatsuki's paw... well, I don't exactly need to say it do I? The emptiness of this space is a testimony to that fact."

Both the Hachibi and Jinchuuriki were looking at the Kyuubi as he stood slowly, joints cracking as if some giant tree had broken. He was massive, easily rivalling the Hachibi to the point where the ox looked nothing like the impressive beat he was, and the famous nine tails flickered upwards occasionally, drawing onlookers' attention.

"I cannot do anything in here but console Naruto, tell him that when he wakes he will be fine. I'm lying, of course, and he knows that, but there's no point in sending him into a panic while he's unconscious."

Killerbee was unsure how to proceed, there were a handful of options he could consider now, yet everything was screaming in him at one direction.

"What are you thinking, Bumble Bee?"

A bloodshot eye caught his attention as the fox lowered his head, ignoring the warning snort from the Kyogyuu behind the muscular man.

"I have a number of options," Killerbee replied, thinking about what he wanted, and what the Kyuubi wanted.

He could turn a blind eye, pretend that he knew nothing about Naruto and simply carry on to the village of Sound, attempt to market his songs and live his life thereon out. Eventually Akatsuki would stop him and challenge him again... only this time they would have the full use of the Kyuubi no Kitsune behind them.

For another, he could charge into Konoha and demand they direct him to Naruto, blowing his own cover and therefore betraying Kumo's trust in him (not that they wouldn't forgive him, they'd be upset about the music business for a while though), and not really thinking his plan through properly, bumbling blindly on after the Akatsuki when it was clear he wouldn't get there in time.

There was the third option of simply tracking the Akatsuki on his own, but he could be too late or miss signs entirely. Killerbee knew he was good, but the full power of the Akatsuki could be miles better.

And the last option. He could ask for someone close to Naruto, someone who possibly had a deal of information at their hands or someone who knew Naruto more than anyone else. He could easily send a message to the Raikage and Kumo, requesting they help Konoha in the inevitable fight against Akatsuki, repairing some of the relationships between the two villages as they went.

If that would work, Naruto could be found easily. The only question was, was there such a person?

"Kyuubi-beastie?" He ventured out into the dark, hoping to draw the Kyuubi's undiluted attention. When he felt the cold stare on him, and the bristle of the Kyogyuu behind him, Killerbee knew he had the fox's attention.

"Does Naruto have anyone particularly close to him? Or someone who had a good knowledge on the Akatsuki? It wouldn't take me long to get them, I'm quite close to Konoha after all, and if we manage to meet up then we have a good standing at getting Naruto back."

White teeth flashed in the darkness as the fox grinned, a throaty laugh following moments later.

"There is one person who fits your description exactly. He's someone even I would place my life into his hands, and Naruto most likely has pledged his life to him... something you humans call love. When he realises Naruto is gone, if he hasn't already, he'll leave Konoha at once. He knows Uchiha Sasuke and the Akatsuki like no other, and you'll make a formidable team if you two were to meet."

Killerbee could feel the Kyuubi dropping back off to sleep, unable to resist the pull of Naruto's mind any longer. Before he could go, however, Killerbee needed a name. He had an inkling as to who it could be, Naruto had spoken highly of him earlier after all, but he had to be sure.

"A name, Kyuubi-beastie, I need a name."

The fox chuckled once more, a soft, sleepy sound, and each syllable of the name fell like raindrops on parched earth,

"Uchiha Itachi."

 **降りる**

Usually Itachi would have taken pleasure in the flight, but the raven's primal instinct to protect his mate tightened in his chest, taking over any thought of happiness. Naruto could be in danger, Itachi was always one to believe in small signs and his intuition was hardly ever wrong, and there would be nothing to stop Itachi getting him out of the situation.

Itachi realised that he would be able to go further than any Konoha nin would. Itachi was not bound to the village by laws and governed by the safety of others. Only a handful of people even knew he was alive and back in the village, so in theory he should be able to do anything he wanted.

So, in theory, he could use anything to get Naruto back and there would be no repercussions or lectures from older ninja telling him he was irresponsible or had simply leapt into battle without drawing frontlines.

Moonlight pooled around him as he dove through the broken glass window, ignoring the crushed glass that his raven's eyes could spot on the ground. Moonbeams glittered around the room and panic welled up as the black bird's feathers glittered with glass spots, Naruto nowhere to be seen in the room.

In a moment, Itachi's body contorted and stretched, wings thinning into arms and legs blossoming outwards into thighs. The beak shrank into a human face, being replaced with Itachi's nose, and his dark eyes swirled uncertainly before vermillion red bloomed and the Sharingan span dangerously.

There was chakra residue all over the room, Naruto's permeating the chair and desk, where he had obviously been sitting and writing. Nodding and accepting that this revealed nothing, Itachi moved his gaze around the room critically, searching for a recent sign of Naruto's chakra at the door to signal that he had left.

There was none.

Fighting the urge to swear, Itachi focused on the indent on the chair used for visitors, staring at the green, padded cushion as if his gaze alone would set it on fire. Fortunately for the cushion, Itachi was able to control the desire of the Amaterasu and merely broke apart the shoddy Genjutsu layering, looking for the chakra that had radiated from the person, culprit, sat there.

For a moment, the chakra was so similar to his own that Itachi almost drew back in shock, ruining all his hard work. And then it shifted, turning in turmoil and confusion as the owner of the chakra itself went though the emotions, and Itachi knew who had taken Naruto.

"What have you done Sasuke?" His whisper fell to an empty room and the dark haired man wondered just how long it had been since Sasuke had taken the blond.

There would be no time to notify anyone; Itachi had to leave now if he was to catch up with Sasuke before he got to Madara. It all depended on Madara's location, of course, but there was a chance that he could get Naruto back before Sasuke was able to deliver to his chosen side.

Taking an empty scroll, Itachi flicked it open and wrote his message with a thin brush, ignoring the fact that his hand shook and he knocked a pot of ink over the desk. His message was clear, and he didn't even bother to roll it back in order to deliver. Itachi would leave it on the desk for whoever entered in the morning, in hopes that they knew about him and wouldn't go into shock just because of the name at the end.

In a flutter of feathers and air, Itachi had left the Hokage Tower again, glittering as he passed the ring of sparkling glass shards and his call echoing into the darkness of the night. His message gleamed with still-drying ink, the script open to the world;

To anyone who finds this, the Akatsuki have taken Naruto and I have gone ahead to see what I can do, Uchiha Itachi.

In the silence that filled the room, a single feather floated onto the small puddle of black ink on the desk, clogging and soaking up with the liquid. It wasn't long before the sun rose and showed the feather to be completely submerged in the ink, a sad outcome but an inevitable one.

And as the sun rose, Killerbee set onwards, his feet marching a pace that would have made a jogger proud, Itachi flew until his lungs heaved from lack of oxygen and was forced into resting for a few moments, hands changing from talons as he sat in a tree, Sasuke carried his precious cargo up a hill to watch the new day settling in, his eyes flickering behind him every so often, and Madara moved ever onwards, knowing what the outcome of his next meeting against the Kyuubi.

When the first true rays of sun hit the land, and villages began to wake fully, the four people revolving their actions upon Naruto were not to understand that this day, with the red sky settling an ominous background for their actions, would change the outcome of their lives forever.

 **Beginning**

 **an act or circumstance of entering upon an action or state**

 **初め**

"Naruto..."

A dull ba-bump was echoed throughout the darkness, and groggy eyes began to wake from the stupour they were under. It was an unnusual occurence, shouldn't Shinobi be up at the crack of the whip? The ba-bump became stonger for a moment as a head shook itself; no, nothing was as it should be at the moment.

"Naruto... listen to me."

A slight increase in the ba-bump shifted the space around him and eyes that could, potentially, have slipped into sleep were torn open, eyelashes parting mournfully and tears springing to the corners of the eyelid as a stream of light was awoken the exact same moment.

"You have no choice, this is what you will do."

Realising that he wasn;t going to get anywhere how he was now, arms outstretched from where they had been curled around locked knees, and the figure in the darkness stretched cramped muscles, memories returning in a haze of understanding.

"Madara's waiting. Move."

He wasn't alone, though. And the darkness really wasn't that dark after all. A bird chirped above him, them, and cocked its small brown head, beak opening to unleash a musical tone that tore through Naruto's head like a meat cleaver.

"You're awake."

Forgetting his pain, Naruto turned blazing eyes to face the speaker, noting the dark shadows encircling even darker eyes, throwing the pale skin into an almost etheral quality.

"Sasuke..."

It didn't have to be said; Naruto mourned the loss as if he had lost part of his own body, but knew he had to accept what would happen. Sasuke held the cards now, and he would be taken to Madara - as he had both expected and been informed - before...

Before it all ended. How everything was supposed to.

The bird took to the skies as Sasuke stepped forwards, close enough to haul Naruto up onto his feet by the thick ropes that sealed his hands.

It was a shame, really, that Sasuke would never know the full extent of his power, that the training he had done for Sasuke would never be shown properly. Naruto could mourn for this loss in time, he'd have plenty of it when everything was over, but now was the time for action. There was no plan to follow, other than a whim, a possibility, and if the possibility did pull through, there was no chance of knowing how the tables would turn out in the end.

Who exactly was Uchiha Madara?

An insanely powerful man, no doubt. To have sustained his life for so long, even to the point of being able to subdue and command the Kyuubi on multiple (and when multiple is used here, it is more than simply a couple of handfuls) occasions, stand his own against the Shodai Hokage and decieve the world into thinking he was dead. And in 'death' he had been able to obtain Bijuu, controlled through an organisation forged primarily by his hand.

"Walk," came Sasuke's voice, in a bark more than anything.

Naruto hated this. Hated this Sasuke who was so cold, so bitter and full of hatred. Hadn't Itachi's death been enough to shake him from the circle of revenge? Or even learning Itachi was alive? Was Sasuke so fuelled by hatred that everything he did was simply on the path of destruction and loathing?

Naruto knew withoiut doubt that he missed his Sasuke. He missed the Genin who would give off a rare smile, sink to Naruto's level and play his competitions, judging their strength and constantly sizing each other up. Typical male behaviour, typical friend behaviour.

Naruto would run, if he could. If the lightning-soaked ropes hadn't been tingling his fingers, stinging everytime he twisted his index finger in attempt to free his full hand, then they would be long gone, and Sasuke would be faced with an angry blond.

It was not the way to go, however. The Uchiha had made that clear, his eyes dead and emotionless as he had explained what would happen, installing a spark of fear in Naruto's heart at his words.

"You don't have to do this, Sasuke. I meant it, come back home."

To his credit, Sasuke stopped walking, his hands falling to his sides from where they had been resting on his Kusanagi. Naruto was briefly attempted to brush away the growing fringe that Sasuke had falling into his eyes, yet his resolve was firm and he knew his words had no meaning. What had to be done had to be done. There was no refuting that, he could not change Sasuke's mind before and there was nothing more than this that his best friend was so set on.

"I do have to, Naruto," came a quiet voice, one that saddened Naruto further, and they resumed their pace.

Given the time, Naruto might had noted their location, smiled at the flowering trees and reached a hand out to snag some petals. He might have laid down in the grass, run his hand through the dewy carpet and laughed in delight at the simple pleasures nature had graced them with.

But he didn't. They had time, when one is walking somewhere there is always time, but it was not the right sort of time. Naruto's mind was cloudy, knowing what would happen and dreading reaching the meeting place. There was nothing that could be done, yet every time he tried to think of something else, his mind would wander back to the situation they were walking into.

Reaplacing the sound of the ba-bump heartbeat was the took-took of Sasuke's shoes on the ground, drumming their own call to war. Naruto cast a look over his shoulder, looking to the Uchiha at his side and he felt his heart break.

Sasuke's face was, for once, free of all stoicism. It seemed as if every moment of weariness that had led to this moment had suddenly graced Sasuke, turning his sixteen (almost seventeen) years into something more like thirty. Naruto understood his tiredness, it was what he felt when, ironically, thinking about Sasuke. They had always chased each other around, not thinking of the exact consequences, wearing one another ragged, and now would be the final step.

It was pointless to point out anyone would help; with Gaara they had been too late and Akatsuki had killed him before Konoha even showed up. Thye had ripped the Ichibi no Tanuki out and dumped the corpse, and only an old woman had been able to ressurect him, at the cost of her own life.

Naruto didn't want anyone to die for him, not even someone as corrupt as Orochimaru had been. No one deserved that, no matter what they did. One life in exchange for his was inexcusable, blame it on being Hokage or having a large heart, but Naruto wouldn't allow it. He could make sacrifices, yes, and would sign over a criminal's name in exchange for a child's, but no other human but him had business in his own affairs.

Besides, if the worst came to the worst, Naruto knew he would be able to confront the Kyuubi before Madara got the fox. If Madara got his way and managed to go deep enough to pit Naruto into unconsciousness, then Naruto would fight all the way, fight until the very fox Madara wanted was slain.

And the Kyuubi knew this, accepted it. Naruto didn't doubt for a second that he wouldn't put up a fight; being locked in a cage for what felt like eternity (and being controlled to the whims of a mad man before that) messed with the mind, drew madness in like jam does to ants. The fox was turned into a fighter by Madara and so would do the thing he did best in a confrontation where death was a very possible option; fight.

Naruto wasn't asking for self-sacrifice from anyone, least of all the Kyuubi. No one, not even the nine tails inside of him, need exchange place for his death, and if he was going to die then he would at least destroy the one goal Madara had yet to complete.

"How much further?"

Naruto noted that his own voice was weak, probably due to the lack of water he had recieved. Sasuke's eyes were dull, not even a flicker of emotion passing through them, yet he answered the question as quietly as he had spoken before,

"Not too far. It's a valley a little further away from the Valley of the End. It has a waterfall, similar its companion valley, yet there are no carvings. Madara wishes to change that when... well... He's named it the Valley of the Beginning."

Naruto bowed his head, almost smiling at the self confidence within Uchiha Madara. He was so sure that he was going to win, so sure that he would combat all obstacles, that he was willing to name a place before the victory had been won. An amazing mentaility, Naruto had to admit, if a little psychotic.

A beginning of a new era, it certainly would be. As for what era it would be, either by Madara's will or by Naruto's, only time would be able to tell, and Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up as a tree emptied of its birds, the flock of small, dark bodies shooting into the sky as if on a single command.

Naruto didn't understand why, and it would be too late to ask Itachi about birds. How could the whole flock take off on a moment's whim? All synchronising in one heartbeat, a flutter of wings and a dart of eyes.

But he wouldn't be able to ask Itachi now, and in the off chance that they made it through, Naruto would be speaking about more serious things than birds and their flying patterns. Maybe, though, it could be a rainy day quesion... or maybe in the early morning rays of sun as they peaked through the blinds, before Naruto had to go to work and Itachi had to... to do whatever Itachis do.

Did Itachi want to become a Konoha Shinobi again? A handful of people knew he had survived his supposed last battle, but how many knew he was actually innocent? A few may have speculations, but speculations weren't enough to risk the stability of a whole village.

The people who knew about Itachi accepted him because Naruto accepted him. They didn't understand why exactly Naruto had saved the Uchiha, or what he could gain from it, but they trusted their Hokage, trusted Naruto, and knew that he would never bring harm to them.

It had worked, too. Sakura had been saved only thanks to Itachi, and she accepted him more as a person than on Naruto's behalf. It wouldn't ever be a perfect world, but if one person other than him could see Itachi as a human rather than the mysterious killer he was portrayed as...

Of course Kakashi, Tsunade and Shizune would be fine with everything. Tsunade and Shizune already knew Itachi's truth, and Kakashi knew Itachi before the massacre, even commenting once how he didn't understand how Itachi snapped as he supposedly did, but it would be nice if someone younger, someone Naruto's age, saw truth and accepted it, as they had done with Naruto and Kyuubi.

Naruto stumbled over a small stone that he hadn't seen and waited for the enevitable fall to the ground, possibly a cruch where his nose his the flat ground... and yet it never came. Instead, Naruto's head was resting against Sasuke's cloaked chest, hearing his friends own ba-bump of a heartbeat.

Catching Sasuke's eye, Naruto shot him a silent question, to which Sasuke answered with his own look, one that clearly stated he was doing it for a personal gain.

When hadn't he done something for a personal gain? So absorbed in revenge was Sasuke that he failed to notice hundreds of opportunities to reach out and befriend people, to make someone smile maybe once, or possibly make himself smile. Naruto had changed that in their brief time together as friends, and the blond wondered how many times Sasuke had smiled in their time apart as friends.

Their friendship was strange, so strange, Naruto concluded. They had spent longer as friends without any contact whatsoever than they had actually being proclaimed friends. Though they had been classmates, and felt the mutual need for company between them, for years before being placed on their Genin team, Naruto had always seen Sasuke as someone to look up to, rather than become a friend with. He had hidden his feelings of awe (because every single time Sasuke either had a perfect mark on every test, or damn close) and admiration beneath one of anger and dislike, stating that Sasuke was a pompous git.

Which led to him analysing the Uchiha thoroughly one day, crouched on a desk and glaring into dark eyes, before being ruthlessly shoved forwards and ending that disastrous meeting with a kiss.

Which, Naruto had to amit, wasn't the highlight of his life.

Looking to the tired man next to him now (they had started walking again, this time with Sasuke close enough so that every few strides his arm brushed against Naruto's own), he couldn't find that child in him. It was as if someone had sucked all the innocence out - because even if Sasuke had a vendetta back then, he still had his childish, carefree innocence that came with youth, no matter the trials he had been through - and left behind a bitter man who was willing to destroy anything he touched.

He was a Midas to a kingdom of sorrow, turning every single person who could ever become close into a person who didn't care, couldn't care, either because he had pushed them away so much, or they had died.

What this king had yet to learn was that some people could resist his curse, some people weren't simply willing to give up what they had fought years to achieve, were still fighting for. Itachi had offered his hand, smiling and showing Sasuke how he could have the family he had craved for, if only he gave up the gift of Midas. If he stepped away from the false God, Madara, and realised that the world wasn't against him then he could be freed, could learn to live.

After all, if there was anyone better to talk to about the loss of his family then it would be Itachi. Itachi understood Sasuke better than Sasuke gave him credit for, had understood his brother to such a degree even at the age of thirteen and singlehandedly planned and guided Sasuke into a future worth being in.

Naruto wondered if Sasuke ever thought about what his brother had done. When accepting the Hokage's orders, and that of the Advisors and Danzou, Itachi had given up the safety and sanctuary of a family, no matter how power crazed they were. Itachi had stood up, as a thirteen year old boy, against his family for the stability for other families.

If there was such thing as salvation, no one but Itachi deserved it.

The sound of a million droplets of water crashing on rocks alerted Naruto to the fact that they were nearing their destination. He wasn't sure if this valley thay approached was the Valley of the End, or if it was Madara's planned scene, yet that didn't stop the epinephrine beginning to set his body up for an adrenaline rush.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Naruto could feel his heartbeat increase, and the volume of blood flowing from and into his heart increase. Studying the biological processes behind being a Shinobi or Kunoichi had interested Naruto greatly, and he knew exactly what changes were going on inside of him. Just because he hadn't completed the worksheet on the process didn't mean it didn't have his full undertsanding, and right now the arterioles leading to his gastrointestinal tract and skin were constricting, and the arterioles leading to skeletal muscle were dilating in order for more oxygen to flow to where it would be needed.

It was this unique factor that made being a Ninja so dangerous. Many decided to take epinephrine pills to induce an adrenaline rush themselves, which ended in stimulating the arterioles to contract or dilate when it was perhaps not necessary to do so. It often lead to gastrointestinal problems, most commonly the inability to digest food as blood was cut off from the digestive system.

It was easily treatable, with Medical Ninjutsu, but often the patient would have more than one of these operations, relying too heavily on pills to aid where the body's natural mechanisms could supply just as well.

Perhaps it was because of this, and many other biological factors or cases Naruto had studied, that made Naruto trust his instinct. His body knew exactly what was needed and when, and this was because of his brain. It was his brain that told him what to expect, guessing ahead in situations and feeling things in others. It was this that gave him an advantage when fighting; many people were cemented in one style of fighting, something that was familiar.

Naruto had no such style. He was unique, bending to the ever changing will of the fight.

And so he looked to Sasuke, wondering if his own usually cheerful face was as grave as Sasuke's, and wondered if there was any chance what had been proposed would work. Madara was a mad man, yes, but to throw all rules away as Sasuke had explained...

Naruto would have to be mad to even think it would work.

And yet, he had nothing else to look on in the situation they would be facing, nothing else but Sasuke's words to know what to expect.

The sound of a waterfall roared now, and Naruto noticed the absence of the giant statues of Senjuu Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.

They had arrived at the beginning.

 **初め**

Flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying, flying.

What else could he do?

The wind howled to his bird senses, other avian forms calling out to him to frolic with them, and still he did not deter from his path of flying, simply flying.

To a bird, at least. But Itachi was no bird; he was a human inside of a bird's body, and essentially was still a human hurtling through the sky as if he had every right to be there.

Which he did, really, because Naruto was in trouble, and Naruto needed helping, and nothing else but Naruto mattered.

Resisting the pull of flight as a murder of crows flew past, calling out to the raven form and ruffling their wings slightling in affront when Itachi plainly rejected their offers. Today he wasn't a bird. Before, flying was somethinng for amusement, perhaps necessity, but he had always enjoyed it, no matter the urgency.

Even once before, when he had been flying to escape attacks, even with an injured wing, he had enjoyed the flight, the adrenaline running through him giving a new dimension to the journey he loved anyway. There was something amazing about being able to ride in the wind, being able to flee from the mortal confines of feet and lose yourself to the skies.

But not this time.

This time, it was Naruto who was in trouble. Naruto had been taken by Sasuke, Sasuke who would be taking him to Madara, Madara who would kill him.

Itachi would openly admit it; Naruto dying scared him more than anything else in the world. When he had been dying - almost gone completely - Naruto had been the one to decide whether he should live or die, even though Itachi's past actions had seemed less than honest.

Naruto had seen a glimpse of the truth and based a life on that. Naruto had trusted him enough to comfort him when Sasuke had been taken in by Madara, had trusted him enough to allow Itachi to kiss him, allow Itachi to love him.

And in return Itachi had expected nothing. Naruto had no obligations to tie him to Itachi, and yet it was exactly what the blond had done. Naruto had kissed him back, had smiled when Itachi woke him up in the morning simply because he couldn't resist stroking Naruto's arm, compromising his lover's sleep simply because he needed the reassurance that Naruto was real, that what they had was real.

And Naruto understood it exactly. Naruto, instead of rising for breakfast that one time, had laid back in bed and offered Itachi both arms, watching with love in his eyes as Itachi traced every inch of his skin with gentle hands.

Naruto had saved him so many times before, sometimes without knowing it. Itachi shared a part of his soul with the blond now, whether he knew it or not, and was not about to give it up because his ancestor had an incessant need for power.

So came the flying, swooping and soaring with powerful wings, sometimes to the point where he beat them so hard in effort to go faster that he lost altitude as they siezed up in cramp, muscles protesting to the lack of oxygen.

The sun was beginning to touch the earth now, and Itachi knew he had to eat something. The clouds themselves were becoming slightly hazy, something that would be normal if not for the fact that there weren't actually any clouds in sight, and it was Itachi's mind supplying them for him.

It was a hard decision, one that almost broke his heart to make, but Itachi descended to the ground, landing with a hard thunk and settling on two human feet, cloak swaying dramatically with the haste of his transformation.

There was a small outlet town in sight, where Itachi was headed. It was almost in the middle of nowhere, just on the ouskirts of the Konoha-Taki border. There was little around, aside from sparce tree groups and brushland, the grass seeming to wilt even in the bountiful spring. It seemed ominous, a warning perhaps, but Itachi had no time for warnings. He needed to eat, and then get back to flying. Naruto should be somewhere near here, if Madara's previous plans were anything to go by.

Madara wanted to seal each of the Bijuu in a seperate country. He has proposed to sealed a Bijuu in Wind, Earth, Lightning, Water, Sound, Kusa, Fire, Ame and, finally, Taki. Lightning was also a possibility, but the Hachibi had already been targeted there, and Taki was closer to Konoha; meaning Madara would want to finish the sealing as quickly as possible as to avoid confrontations before he could begin the process.

Itachi rubbed his eyes as he pulled his hood up to cover his face, even though he didn't knwo anyone in Taki, or from around this part of the fire country, chances were that someone would spot him out on this occasion. All he wanted was something sweet, perhaps some onigiri - preferably with seaweed in - and a green tea before he set off again. He didn't want fuss, wouldn't be able to handle fuss, and picked the cafe on the edge of an interection, opening the gloomy doors to an almost uninviting atmosphere.

Perfect.

Sitting in the darkest corner available, Itachi placed his order (by some magic they did indeed serve seaweed wrapped onigiri) and settled down, eyes scanning the room for any behaviour that could indicate a threat.

The waitress returned with his rice, sweets and tea, bowed her head politely and returned to the other patrons. He was on his second onigiri when Itachi noticed a pair of eyes following his every move, further in the shadows than even he had been able to get into.

As Itachi turned his head, letting his watcher know he was looking in his direction, the watcher stood up, holding his own cup of tea and plate of sweets, inviting himself to the table where Itachi sat.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely, quietly.

"It'a about bloody time, I tell 'ya. The beastie told me that he knew you would be here at least an hour ago, and I had to pull a fancy transportation jutsu just to get me here so I'd catch you."

Itachi frowned, fingers hovering over the remaining ball of rice and waiting for a clear explanation. He had never met this man before, at least he could tell that from the voice.

Ad the man sat down, recognition sparked inside of Itachi and he knew who this man was, and abandoned all thoughts of violence towards him that had built up as a defence.

"You must be the host to the Hachibi, and I can assume you are in contact with the Kyuubi no Kitsune? There is no other possible way you could have been connected to me otherwise."

For a moment, the host looked startled by his statement, before a wry grin broke out and he nodded, picking one of the dango sticks and sliding the dumplings off into his mouth. After the three had been swallowed, the host began chewing on the remaining stick, nodding to Itachi's own plate.

"You might want to eat them so we can set off on our adventure. The beasties tell me that they're headed for some place called the Valley of the Beginning. I've never heard of it myself, but I don't tend to care much about random valleys."

Itachi finished the last onigiri and picked up the two dango sticks, offering one to the host as an acceptance. The man smiled, spat the wooden stick out of his mouth and onto the table, before devouring the dumplings once again.

"I believe it's somewhere near the border to Taki. I'd also believe that it's close to the Valley of the End, where Madara has fought before. He'd prefer a nostalgic touch to the place he believes he will become a god."

Itachi took a sip of tea, waiting for his food to digest at least a fair amount before running back into the air.

"He believes the Kyuubi will be the easiest for him to bind because he had perfect control over the fox before. What he doesn't know, though, is that the Kyuubi is once again bonded to an Uchiha... but not in the way he wants. Even if Sasuke is on his side," Itachi paused to check and see if the host knew who Sasuke was, and continued at the nod of consent, "He will still be unable to bind the Kyuubi to his will."

The Junchuuriki sat back in his seat, picking his teeth with the wooden stick. He was silent, considering the words for a moment, before he stood, his small glasses slipping down the bridge of his nose.

"Well, seeing you can bind the Kyuubi in a way Mad Maddy can't, we best get there before Naruto does anything to injure himself. I've lost many brothers or sisters through that damned Akatsuki and I don't want to lose anymore."

Itachi followed, leaving the dark restaurant for clear air, and the skies beckoned to him. Even with the Jinchuuriki by his side, it seemed hopeless if he couldn't find Naruto in time.

Panic began to rise in him and Itachi's eyes scanned the area around him, almost desperate to take off for Naruto... until a heavy hand settled on his shoulder.

"It's alright, Itachi-san. We'll get there, the Kyuubi will tell us when Naruto's met with him. All we need to do is follow a strategy, otherwise we'll be like... well, two bulls in a china shop."

The man chuckled at his own joke, taking his spare hand and offering it to Itachi.

"The name's Killerbee. Our mission is to find Naruto and hopefully take down this Madara. Sure he's pretty powerful, but you'd think the power would get redundant after a while... I mean, all of Akatsuki's pretty much gone, disbanded or dead, and he's now lording over kids, if your little bro's team are still with him."

Itachi nodded, taking a deep breath to reassure himself that Naruto would be fine.

It was better this way; he had back up in the form of a strong ally and friend to Naruto, and the Jinchuuriki could avenge the friends he had lost due to the Akatsuki. Itachi was compelled to explain himself, suddenly, and seemed to blurt the words out.

"I didn't take a Jinchuuriki. Naruto was my assignment..."

"It's okay. I don't blame 'ya, Itachi-san. Naruto's made it clear to me how much he loves you, and the Kyuubi-beastie wouldn't invest in an Uchiha unless he was clear in your intentions. I trust you because you're here on your own for Naruto, and I'm going to help you until it's either us or Madara standing."

Itachi nodded, shoulders slumping in strange relief. He couldn't repent for anything he had done as part of the Akatsuki, and he could certainly never change anything, but if he could apologise... if he could be allowed to do that then maybe there was a chance they could defeat Madara afterall.

"What are you waiting for birdie! Fly, fly, fly! You track by air to find this place of beginning and I follow by foot, I can transport myself thanks to the Kyuubi's chakra when we get there, just get a move on bird-boy!"

Itachi turned, his cloak pooling around him as it stretched into inky wings, taking to the sky like a bullet from a gun.

He was once again flying, not enjoying the flight, but feeling as if he had a grip on the situation, a grip on the world and a way to get Naruto back. Nothing had to be done alone, and Madara could not simply be taken down alone.

Itachi knew that better than anyone; he had already tried before.

 **初め**

The only sound around was that of running water, and Madara smiled behind his mask. The comforting presence of his scythe was by his side, forsaking his identity for familiarity and weapon supremacy.

As an Uchiha was not complete without his Sharingan, Madara (not Uchiha Madara, just Madara) was not complete without his scythe. It would have been nice to wear the red plated armour and his shield, but he had made many sacrifices in the battle against Hashirama. The scythe he had been able to salvage later, luckily, and he stroked the black handle lovingly, his eyes seeing a future he had been dreaming of ever since Uchiha had fallen into despair.

Two sets of footsteps approached and Madara smiled, his back facing the pair.

"It was so nice of you to come, Sasuke."

The scythe glinted as Madara turned, eyes looking into familliar vermillion Sharingan, before settling on the Jinchuuriki.

It had begun.

 **Peace**

 **a state of mutual harmony between people or groups, esp. in personal relations**

 **平和**

Uchiha Madara had, at one point, been the figurehead of the Uchiha clan, praised because he was the strongest (smiling beside Izuna as the brothers were hoisted up on the shoulders of their relatives, after a particularly gruelling fight had been one), and respected because he had the intelligence of a leader.

And that was exactly what he had become; a leader to Uchiha. With his Mangekyou Sharingan, the Uchiha clan had prospered beautifully, overcoming every obstacle thrown their way. Izuna and Madara had been an exceedingly powerful combination, and given greatness to the Clan, the highest honour possible.

And then, when everything seemed to be going so well, the world crashed around Madara. It had been in battle, one against the Senjuu clan, ironically, when the world fell into darkness, and he had stumbled, eyes widening without sight.

It had been Izuna - when wasn't it - who had given him light back, crashing into him and knowing them down.

"What the fuck are you doing aniki? Get the fuck up!"

Izuna had always been one for profanities, and Madara had reopened his eyes, Mangekyou swirling as he could see. Uchiha and Senjuu were fighting around him, and a man with long, brown hair walked up to him.

They locked eyes with one another for a moment, before leaping in to fight one another, wooden projections firing themselves at Madara as he fought to trap the other in an illusion.

That day, Madara and Hashirama had undertaken their first of many battles, and Madara had never been able to rid himself of the burning eyes of the Senjuu Clan's leader. Uchiha had won that fight and returned to their camp, Izuna running up alongside him and patting him on the back with a mighty thump.

"We got 'em good, eh aniki?"

Something about his little brother's smile made Madara smile in turn, and they laughed their way back home, where their mother was waiting with the broth she had cooked up while the fighters in the clan had gone off to secure another peaceful night.

Madara had forgotten about the lapse in eyesight, until he was out hunting. Izuna and some of the other kids had rallied together to drag the slightly older Madara out with them, and despite protests that he needed to help guard the camp, he had been dragged along.

His peers who had been on guard duty had laughed, saying that although Madara was incredibly strong, they did need dinner that night, and even with Izuna they would not be as protected. If the two strongest Uchiha went out with the children of the clan then they would be safe, and be sure to bring dinner home.

A falcon flew over head and Madara looked upwards, instantly signalling to Izuna that he was going to follow the bird. It was a trick he had learnt; he would follow the bird and usually they would lead him to a rabbit warren, or a less tended area of a clan's farming land. He would then be able to bring dinner home, or, if in fail of that, be shot of the group and work on controlling the giant fox he had dreamt of mastering.

Madara had been watching the bird, Sharingan activated to track its progress through the trees, when darkness had clouded his view, and he had stumbled on catching his landing, slipping from the trees and landing on the ground with a muffled oof.

In the darkness, panic had welled up inside of him as Madara felt around, looking for a hold to help him stand from having the wind knocked out of him. The falcon was long gone, as was Izuna this time, and it took close to ten minutes before vision started creeping back.

Yet nothing was as it used to be. Everything had a slight smear to it, a clouded edge, as if everything would be thrown into darkness any second. The chakras of animals around were still as distinctive as before, just not as bright. Everything was normal, yet tauntingly so, a little hint here and there to mock Madara, tell him that it could happen again at any moment.

He was losing the most important thing to an Uchiha; his eyes.

Walking back to camp, Madara's mind had been filled with possibilities - almost all jumping to the worst conclusion - and he was so preoccupied that he hardly noticed when Izuna and the rest of the group fell into step with him.

"Where's your catch?"

Madara looked sideways, ignoring the shock that was clear on Izuna's face when it was revealed his Sharingan was deactivated. Normally Madara never deactivated his bloodline when away from the camp.

"Lost it," was the simple reply to the question, and the elder ignored Izuna's frown.

"So you make us do all the work then aniki? It's not as if this is the first time... but you normally come back with one mangey rabbit at least. Losing your edge?"

Madara stiffened and walked onwards, pointedly ignoring the rest of the little pack. When they entered the camp, Madara strode straight to his tent, making sure to buckle the hide entrance so that Izuna would have problems getting in. Sure his brother could resort to using chakra in any form, but then he would feel the disapproval of the clan, and it was certain that their father would give him a lecture.

And they both knew their father could go on a rant for days.

When his eyes failed him for the third, fourth and fifth times, Madara could no longer ignore the threat. They were preparing to ambush a nearby clan, one that had been becoming a little too cocky when it came to boundaries, and Madara felt his eyes tingle, mocking him as they were about to descend into blindness.

There was nothing he could do about it, either. Madara would enter this fight blindly and fight for his life, where the others would merely be fighting to keep the Uchiha's position at shared-number-one.

And so he fought, in darkness, using his other senses to tell him when to parry an attack, when to use his kusarigama war fan, when to duck and, finally, when his back was pressed against Izuna's, something that occurred frequently in battle.

They were the best in the clan, constantly pitted against each other in battle, always fighting together. Head-to-head, and Madara couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy in amongst the love he felt; Izuna was younger than him, and already on par with his skills. How long would it take until he surpassed him and became the full leader of Uchiha?

Losing his brother was one thing, as he would if Izuna suddenly had all these other obligations, but to lose the clan as well? He had spent so long being praised as the best that Madara simply assumes he would inherit the title of leader when he was old enough. With the blindness settling in, those hopes seemed scorched into ashes, with Izuna rising in the heat of the flame.

"Come on then aniki, back home for a celebration! Did you see the looks on their faces when they saw us? Amazing..."

Of course, Madara did not say that he hadn't seen them, and simply nodded with a mumbled 'yes', before following the footsteps of his clan and leaving Izuna alone.

It was three days later that Madara overheard Izuna talking to the clan elders. It wasn't unusual for him to be talking to them, Madara would often stop by for tea in the afternoon, either talking about the weather around them or a mission they were to undertake for a country, but it was the topic of conversation.

"Something's wrong with Madara."

Pressing his ear against the canvas of the tent, Madara frowned.

"He's been acting odd lately, ignoring me and others, and I was talking to him the other day and it was as if he couldn't see me. I tried to think what I'd done to offend him but-"

"Izuna," interrupted one of the council, a woman by her stern tone, "Have you ever considered how much you and your brother use your Mangekyou? As there has never been a Mangekyou user before, it's hard to tell the possible side effects. This technique could be causing all manner of damage... then again one could argue why you haven't experienced any of this behaviour."

Silence ruled for a moment before Izuna spoke again, "Can't you just give him a medical check up?"

At that point, Madara turned away, curling his upper lip. He didn't need Izuna's sympathy, and who did the idiot think he was anyway? Getting the whole clan involved in something so stupid?

Madara went for the medical exam anyway, the next day. Izuna had tagged along as well, biting his bottom lip in worry every time the medic nin's hands moved to a new area, as was protocol. Madara ignored him, tensing only when the medic brought his hand to his face.

After the examination, Izuna was told to leave, being reassured that nothing was wrong but the medic wanted to ask Madara some personal questions. With a happy smile, Izuna left, convinced there was nothing wrong with his brother.

Madara, however, had no such thoughts. The medic had sent Izuna out because he had something bad to tell him, something he already knew.

"You have substantial damage to your eyes, so much that I can't pin-point an origin. Obviously you knew about this, don't deny it, I felt you tense, and I'd wager it has something to do with your Mangekyou."

Madara looked down to the ground and nodded.

"Well, what do you want to do? I'd suggest an eye transplant... I can't heal the damage, it's so extensive that you'd go blind in the procedure anyway. The only problem is that you'd need fresh eyes... and I don't keep eyes around here. Plus your body would have to be close in chakra signature, closer than just a second cousin."

The medic looked sympathetic and Madara resisted the urge to just leave.

"I'm sorry, but we'll think of something. In the mean time, I want you to come back every other day, for a quick check up. If we find out how quickly they're deteriorating, we can combat the progress of that with some medicine."

And so Madara attended these sessions dutifully, checking to see how much he could see, how far and how quickly his eyes reacted, took the bitter tasting medicine and reported on how little he could actually see anymore.

He was in his third week of 'treatment' when, at home, he suffered from a moment of blindness at dinner and knocked over his drink, ruining the supper their mother had spent all day preparing.

"Madara!" Came the cry of his parents as he left the table. He couldn't see anything in the confusion, couldn't even apologise for what he had done because he couldn't look them in they eye and say sorry.

He didn't notice Izuna behind him, and when his brother tapped him on the shoulder, he whirled round, grabbing the air blindly for his attacker.

"Aniki, what are you doing?"

Madara's arms stilled at once and he muttered, "Nothing," before walking from the tent and over to the medic, not worrying about getting lost as he had memorised the exact route in case of this happening.

And, once again, he had not realised Izuna was following him until he had entered the medic's tent and sat on the chair, answering to a simple question as to whether he could see anything at the moment.

The answer was a firm no.

And Izuna, with his hand half clutching the flaps of the entrance to the tent, gasped.

Madara turned unseeing eyes to his brother, he could locate him now that his eyes were returning to their normal seeing state, and felt panic creeping up.

Izuna, lovely, sweet, little Izuna knew about his deadly secret. His cute little brother, his wonderful little brother, his talented little brother... the little brother who had followed every step of his life in Madara's footsteps, even to the point of obtaining the Mangekyou.

"I want to help."

Izuna's voice was firm, as if he had made a decision months ago.

Which was wrong; Izuna didn't even know he was blind until a few seconds ago so how could he claim he wanted to help?

"Go home Izuna," Madara said, gritting his jaw.

Izuna was defiant, and his eyes glowed with the Sharingan, "No aniki! You're blind and I want to help. I'll do anything... I'll whisper where the enemy is, help you train, keep it a secret... I'll even give you my eyes! Just let me help!"

Maybe, somewhere in his subconsciousness, Madara had always been hoping for that, and maybe it was that plea that made his mind up later... but for the moment Madara rejected him, the world slowly blurring back.

"Go home Izuna. Go home and stop meddling in my business."

And, as all little brothers who idolise their brother do, he went home. The medic made to say something yet Madara shook his head, dismissing all conversation and taking a walk around the camp before going to sleep.

What Izuna had said bothered him for weeks after, and his eyesight was lapsing into darkness more and more frequently. It became so bad that in one clash with the Senjuu (they had been hired more and more frequently to go against people who hired Senjuu; Uchiha were the only clan who could oppose them) Madara had to retire early, Izuna covering him and pretending that Madara had taken a weapon to the stomach in protecting his brother.

There was no weapon; Madara had left because he couldn't stand to see Senjuu Hashirama smiling, as he always did when he fought Madara. He couldn't stand to see Hashirama win... again.

Two nights later and the pain that had been accumulating behind his eyes ripped forwards, claiming his head and throat in an almighty scream. Madara managed to muffle it, only attracting the attention of his damned brother.

"Madara..."

Something ran cold in Madara's veins as Izuna - sweet, detestable, little Izuna - called him Madara and not aniki. Izuna had never called him Madara before, even when he had yelled at him to.

"LEAVE!" He bellowed, throwing an arm out without care if he hit Izuna or not. His request was ignored and, instead, a hand closed itself on his arm.

"Madara, listen to me, I'm here to help..."

And Madara decided that yes, Izuna could help then. His head hurt so much and Izuna had offered before... and his eyes cleared enough to let him see Izuna's Sharingan... which was surely a sign.

In truth, Madara was hardly aware of anything until he had done it. His eysight was perfect, his head clear and he smiled at Izuna, ready to tell him that whatever he had done had worked.

His smile fell short when Izuna looked up at him, cheeks streaming with blood as it ran from his closed eyes. That wasn't the worst part, though; it was the smile that graced his lips as a question slipped from them;

"Does that feel better now, Madara? Are you okay now, aniki?"

And, oh god, it wasn't.

He wasn't okay, and when he buried his brother when he died in battle (even though he had survived for three months in battle blind, better at it than Madara had been - as he had been with everything) Madara cried alone, his Eternal Mangekyou feeling like a foolish price to pay for the life of Izuna.

Eventually the ache subsided somewhat, and it became easier for Madara to say that Izuna had given him his eyes. It was easier to accept that than the truth, and easier for Madara to want to keep fighting than join in alliance to the only man he still could not beat with his brother's eyes.

Senjuu Hashirama offered an alliance.

Uchiha Madara offered him a war.

The Senjuu clan offered an alliance.

The Uchiha clan accepted this alliance.

And Uchiha Madara...

Uchiha Madara felt guilt overwhelm him, the grief he carried from his brother roaring up once again. What had Izuna died for (what had Madara signed his death warrant for) if they curled up like a dog and sat for the Senjuu.

Yet he was a leader now, a leader as Izuna was sure to become, and he had a duty as a leader. Convinced as he was that Senjuu would stab them in the back (which was true when Hashirama took seat of Hokage simply like that, no fighting skills considered, merely the vote of people they governed over), Uchiha wanted peace.

Izuna was dead, and his people wanted peace.

Madara could accept an alliance, could tolerate Hashirama becoming Hokage, but he could not accept, could not tolerate, the way his own clan turned their backs and walked away. What had all their families dies for? What had Izuna died for if it wasn't to protect the clan?

Madara had been thrown away as a madman, and he challenged Hashirama, coming close to killing him.

And, typically, Hashirama had beaten him at the last minute, causing him to resort to his last card; the Kyuubi no Kitsune he had forced to his will.

And still, he had failed.

He left, thought dead to Konoha and his clan.

It wasn't as if he gave up, though, and in the years before he attacked Konoha again with the Kyuubi (the night it was lost to him and gifted to Uzumaki Naruto), he thought about Izuna, and the betrayal of his clan. He wanted Uchiha to pay, and Konoha would pay in turn.

He formed Akatsuki, gathering ninja who needed the organisation just because (Deidara), continue immortality (Hidan), a place to take care of his sword (Kisame), land (Zetsu), 'ideology' (supposedly Itachi, though he did have a different agenda underneath), forget lonliness (Sasori), accumulate money and his supply of hearts (Kakuzu), love (Konan), destruction and a chance for the Sharingan (Orochimaru) and pain (Nagato).

After handing the reins over to Nagato and Konan for a short while, Madara had returned to Konoha six years after he attacked with the Kyuubi a second time, fully intent on crushing the village.

Only to be stopped by Uchiha Itachi. The thirteen year old boy had walked straight up to him in the woods, stopped and focused as much malicious intent on him as he could through his three-pointed Sharingan.

"So you're Uchiha Madara."

It hadn't been a question, and Madara felt excitement running through him. The only person to figure out that he hadn't died, the only person who had bothered to connect things... the only person strong enough to accomplish what he had craved for years.

"You want to destroy Uchiha and Konoha don't you?" Madara hadn't even bothered answering that one. "I'll give you Uchiha, if you leave the village alone."

And Madara had sworn his word to this boy, an ANBU at thirteen and more powerful than perhaps Izuna and himself - before his Eternal Mangekyou of course. He was unbeatable now, Hashirama was just an exception... and even he had died in the end. Madara was still here, and able to exact his revenge upon the clan that had turned its back on him.

So when Itachi had died, Madara had laughed. Itachi was gone, and he owed a dead man nothing. He could punish Konoha now, punish the village and her Hokage because it was what he had to do. Izuna had died, Uchiha had died, and now Konoha had to die.

Peace was for the weak.

So why, of all things, was the very embodiment of peace here now?

 **平和**

Naruto's eyes slid over to look at Sasuke. The Uchiha looked terrible, still, and they had just rested for an hour. Upon Sasuke's insistence.

That never happened, at least, not in the days of Team 7.

Though those days were so long ago now, and yet not that long ago.

"Are you-"

"I'm fine Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, and Naruto simply nodded, not wanting to intrude in Sasuke's thoughts.

Sasuke suddenly looked up and stood, his hand touching his sword reassuringly.

And they walked.

 **平和**

Sharingan met Sharingan and, behind his mask, Madara narrowed his eyes, his mouth thinning.

There was always an exception, always a thorn in his side, always something.

He should have anticipated it, that much was true, but it really was an unlikely alliance. An Uchiha and a Jinchuuriki against him? Wishful thinking, and yet...

"It appears I was wrong then."

Madara hated admitting he was wrong, and anger was slowly building up in his stomach, ready to fight. He only wished he had the Amaterasu, that would be far more comforting; the man across from him was no doubt preparing to launch his own attack.

"Isn't it perfect?"

Madara threw his arms open to the world around him, drawing eyes to the area for a moment. In truth, it was perfect. It was where his clan had first settled, before deciding to ally with Hashirama and his Senjuu.

It was where his brother had died and where he had become a glorious ruler.

There was no better place, not even the Valley of the End, for this day, and it was truly a Valley of the Beginning. He had awakened the Eternal Mangekyou here, become the head of the Uchiha, signed the clan off to Senjuu...

Everything seemed to revolve around this area, and who was he to tempt fate? If fate wanted him to undertake evry important stage in his life here, then so be it.

It was where he had first set up Akatsuki, meeting Nagato and Konan here and here alone, refusing to set foot in Ame. He wondered for a moment where the remainder of his Akatsuki were, Zetsu and the faux team Taki. He knew where Sasuke was, it was hard to ignore, but what of his team? Madara knew he had sent them away but were they just simply waiting?

It didn't really matter. Zetsu was no doubt spying for him, loacting the whereabouts of various sources, and he was more of a hinderance in a fight, breaking out into an argument with himself halfway through.

Madara was better off alone. He was always pretty much alone.

Instead of a huge waterfall, like the Valley of the End, this valley had a smaller one, and a river flowing here rather than a large lake. The wildlife here, though, was plentiful and far greater than at the sister valley, the grass spreading right to the edges of the water.

"How do you like my kingdom?"

There was no answer and Madara rounded on the pair, eyes flickering in annoyance.

"When I ask you a question, I expect an answer." His voice grew hard and anticipation rose up, knowing full well what was coming. His scythe was gripped tight in his hands, and not for the first time Madara wished his kusarigama war fan was in his hands.

"How do you like my kingdom?"

Almost as if it had been rehearsed, Madara leapt forwards in time with his opponent, knowing well that kunai would be slipping down into empty hands, blocking his scythe's attack. It didn't matter that the attack was blocked, Madara knew it would be, and instead drew closer to his opponent's ear.

"I don't know how you did it, Itachi, but somehow you still manage to surprise me."

Madara drew back, hoping to take Itachi by surprise. He, instead, reeled back in shock, jumping only upon instinct as Itachi's Sharingan span into Mangekyou. Madara was visibly shaken, knowing that Itachi had loast his eyesight before his death... and with lost eyesight came loss of Mangekyou.

Spitting as if his mouth contained a vile taste, Madara gripped the handle to his scythe and prepared to clash against Itachi once more. The Jinchuuriki to the Hachibi was standing by the side calmly, perhaps they had a plan, or maybe the Jinchuuriki would be the one to take on Sasuke when he got there... Madara didn't know. What he did need to do, though, was take Itachi down as quickly as possible.

Itachi may have defied death, regained his almost perfect Sharingan (after all, he hadn't taken Sasuke's eyes so his was simply a Mangekyou), and recruited a Jinchuuriki, but he wasn't Madara. Madara had a few secrets, more than a few, and once Naruto got here with Sasuke, the Kyuubi would be at his full disposal, even if it meant ruining Naruto before the sealing.

Sacrifices could be made, after all, and Itachi had a bond to Konoha. What better way to destroy a man than rip away part of what he loved in front of his own eyes?

Madara tucked his scythe behind him to rest aginst his back, waiting for what he knew Itachi was about to do. Amaterasu burned in Itachi's eye, blood spilling over a single, pale cheek, and Madara felt the unholy sting as it his his right arm, the same arm Sasuke had unwittingly burnt as well.

In broad daylight Madara took a deep breath, feeling Itachi's piercing eyes as he focused his chakra and locked eyes with the flames, willing them down by strength alone. His mask shifted slightly and slipped to the side, revealling two eyes instead of the customary one.

Madara usually kept both of his eyes covered for the very reason that he simply couldn't see out of the left eye anymore. When he had fought Hashirama, the man had managed to block off part of his chakra and disturb the flow to his left eye, causing the illness to fall back and destroy the glow of the Eternal Sharingan. Madara had found a way to bring back the life to Izuna's eye, and for that he needed his connection with the Kyuubi to finally override Hashirama's block.

Yet the Eternal Mangekyou was still there, hidden under clouded vision. It had never deactivated and it was this that forced the Amaterasu into submission, cloaking the flames until the ceased to burn.

Without even looking, Madara could tell that Itachi hated him, hated him for being able to put out his fire in a single movement.

And Madara laughed.

 **Submerge**

 **to put or sink below the surface of water or any other enveloping medium**

 **水没**

Itachi took a step back, mind whirling as he thought up possible plans. He hadn't expected Madara to be able to combat his Amaterasu, but there had to be someway he got around Sasuke, especially as Itachi knew his power had been transferred into his younger brother.

At the side his vision, Killer Bee was waiting, watching for any sign of Sasuke, Naruto, Taki or Zetsu, as arranged. Itachi had been adament that it would be him to fight Madara, and despite Killer Bee's protests, the Jinchuuriki, too, knew that fighting an Uchiha was best done by an Uchiha.

Or so one would think.

Genjutsu wouldn't work on Madara unless Itachi could disguise it and then cover his tracks up, as well as following with an immediate attack. The amount of chakra needed for that, and it was very likely that plan would fail, would be a loss, however small, and so Itachi wanted to keep that as a last resort, along with Susano'o and the sword of Totsuka.

It was unlikely that Madara could be simply killed here, and Itachi had a plan to seal his soul into the sword of Totsuka, eternally bound by the Gods and rid of this earth. It would be hard to corner Madara to a point where Susano'o could be used, and Itachi knew that his efforts could well end in death (depending on how much chakra he had left), but he was willing to die for Naruto.

And that was what everything was about now; Naruto. He would protect Naruto with his life, not because of obligation or duty, but because he loved him.

Itachi had been told long ago that there would come a point in his life where there would be a love so pure, he would even sacrifice himself in hopes that the object of his love would live. Itachi hadn't believed Shisui when he had told him that, even if he was certain to live, and the one he loved had a small chance of survival, Itachi would end up doing anything, giving anything, as long as it meant his love had a slightly stronger chance of survival... even dying.

Of course, back then Itachi had laughed Shisui's theory off, thinking that he was in love enough with Shisui for there to be anything else.

Yet he hadn't hesitated in killing him. It was a scene he had tried to forget many times, but instead of the initial pain it had caused him, killing who he thought was the person he would always love, there was simply the regret he felt at taking another life.

He hadn't loved Shisui the way Shisui loved him, as Itachi realised as he grew older. Shisui had known what Itachi would do just before he did it, and offered himself up, arms wide and a smile on his face. Itachi hadn't cried, hadn't shown any emotion once his lover was dead, and walked away with a frown.

He had cried later that night, not for the loss of Shisui, but more what Shisui had lost in loving him so, what he had done. Itachi realised that Shisui had loved him, and knew that if things had been different, if the elder teen hadn't given himself to Itachi, the mission he had been set upon wouldn't be able to be accomplished.

Itachi had understood the theory of what Shisui had told him, about sacrificing himself for the one he loved, even if his loved one was condemned, but he didn't understand the emotion.

When it came to killing Sasuke, he had thought he understood it perfectly, and had died for his little brother later. And even though it was a different love to Shisui (and later, Naruto) he had been convinced that this was what it felt like, to throw his life out the window to save Sasuke.

But then Naruto had barrelled into his life, blue eyes afire with the truth of the Uchiha clan, blazing with indignation that Itachi was ready to die. He was only twenty one and had accomplished so much in the two-and-a-bit decades he had been alive, but deep inside, he hadn't been ready to die. There was too much still to complete; Madara was still alive and there was a chance, however small, that Sasuke could meet Madara. The Amaterasu was supposed to stop Madara proving he was an Uchiha, but when there was a will there was a way, and it didn't stop the fact that Sasuke would still be in danger.

But it had been his time to bow down, leave with grace and let sleeping dogs lie.

Until Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki to the Kyuubi no Kitsune, Konoha's child, a fool by first inspection and a hero at second, entered. He had been willing to give Itachi a second chance, and Itachi finally understood what Shisui had meant.

So here he was; facing Madara with all intent to use every attack at his arsenal. There was no illness from the Sharingan this time, nothing to hold him back and not want to hurt his opponent so much... and how long had it been since Itachi hadn't had to hold back? Too long, and now Madara would feel what it was like to keep years of hatred up inside of him; it would literally kill him.

Susano'o would be pivotal in this battle, but he couldn't bring his trump card out until Madara was weakened. Itachi knew he would be practically invincible with the sword of Totsuka and the mirror Susano'o wielded, but the power to sustain the deity would end up taking its toll, failing him before he could destroy Madara fully.

Itachi could think to use Epheremal, but it was about getting Madara into the illusion. It was a personal Genjutsu to Itachi, a simple one, really, and it played with the mind more than anything, even though that was technically what all Genjutsu did.

So he could lure Madara into Epheremal, trap him there for the barest of moments and hint to his fears, use that to then distract him and then strike. Epheremal would only work for one hit; Madara would be extra cautious afterwards, but he could hold him in there.

Itachi wasn't sure how much Madara knew about him, abilities wise, but he could control this Genjutsu with his fingers - literally - and so it would be easier to contain Madara in than Tsukuyomi.

So Itachi moved, hidden kunai slipping into his palms, and he jumped. It had been so long since he'd used this move, jumping high enough so that he came back down upside down, and it wasn't just target practice this time.

His kunai landed, marking a pentagon around Madara, and the spare kunai he had used to deflect the one that landed behind the stationary man zipped back to his hand, the wire he had looped onto the handle a neccessary tool here.

Itachi eyed the water behind Madara and decided on his next move. It would be risky; Madara was elementally inclined to fire and earth, whereas Itachi was fire and water, and earth was strong against water. Lightning and water would have been a perfect combination, but it was too much to hope that Sasuke would turn up and be on his side after all he had done to his brother.

His hands blurred, hardly moving to the outside eye, and he whispered the name of the Jutsu quickly, "Suiton: Suigadan," so as to limit Madara's reaction time.

As Madara inched forwards, obviously deciding that Itachi had spent too much time doing nothing, and that the kunai pentagon was merely a test, or for show, the Water Fang Bullet rising and striking the ground in the same pentagon shape the kunai had made.

It was weaker than Itachi had hoped, but it was to be expected; the water source used was behind Madara, and a few metres behind at that, rather than below him. The kunai had served as focus points for him to direct the water to, but without having a full source to contain Madara, it was possible that an earth technique would be used in a split second (if it hadn't already) and Madara would be free.

With that resolve, Itachi strengthened the connection he had forged with the water, tugging the current towards the water prison, thinning the spikes of water until they appeared like crystal, sprouting everywhere inside of the pentagon.

As he had predicted, though, it didn't take long for Madara to counter the Suiton Jutsu, and the pentagon fell as soon as Itachi sensed Madara had escaped; it was pointless wasting chakra that would be needed later, after all.

After copying Kakashi's Doton: Doryūkatsu, Itachi had been able to feel the Dragon Veins in the earth, and so it was clear to him where Madara was, for the moment, and Itachi anticipated him attempting a Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu, another Jutsu Kakashi favoured.

Itachi jumped as Madara made to grab his ankles, but he hadn't anticipated the dragon of mud that would rise up on the other side, and only just managed to twist out of the way, forming the handseals to make a dragon out of the water.

Even though he was at a disadvantage, what with water being the weaker element against earth, Itachi poured more chakra into it than Madara had to his, itching to trap Madara in his Epheremal Genjutsu.

In true testamony to Uchiha Madara's skills, Itachi felt the Dragon's Veins under the earth move as no doubt he had activated Doton: Doryūkatsu, shifting the ground from the very core and dancing the landscape with the dragon bullet.

"Suiton: Suiryūben," Itachi called out, not caring if Madara heard this technique. It was one in his large arsenal of Jutsu that he hadn't used in a while, and would be interesting to see its effects when in contact with Madara's earth style here.

Cancelling the chakra to the water dragon, Itachi focused on the water that was collecting around him. When it had encircled him completely, even under his feet, Itachi placed his hands out in front of him, moving them and willing the water tendrils to move as he did so.

Itachi snet out chakra strings from each of his fingers, engulfing them into the water and so forging a connection with the water. It would be a quicker way to control the water as it spiked around, and Itachi knew his body acted without his brain telling it to, an instinctive movement. Here, thinking cost time, and time could be the boundary between life and death.

Itachi moved, his arms like a puppeteers, and he was thankful to Sasori, for once, for allowing him to observe his training. Watching a master in the art of puppets had helped Itachi gain the amount of control he had right now, but whether it was enough to combat the Doton Madara was using was another thing.

But that wasn't the aim right now... the aim was to trap Madara in Epheremal... and then maybe he could form a strategy from there.

This battle was different to any other Itachi had faced. Before, he had always planned it out, known his enemy, even the Jinchuuriki he had faced. Now, Madara was a wild card, someone he could guess maybe one or three abilities, but not how many the man actually had. And that made him more dangerous than anything before; because Itachi was thinking on his feet, and if one plan didn't work, he had to back it up as soon as the other one failed.

The other option was death.

The water resisted under first contact, and then Itachi strengthened his resolve, bending the water to his will. It complied, snaking out and following his arm movements, smashing through the earth dragon and, eventually, breaking through the mud.

It came at a cost, though, and Itachi had to let the water fall. It had been slightly taxing, and the Uchiha knew he wouldn't be getting anywhere with that technique soon, but the plan had simply been to remove the earth dragon.

Raising his hand, as if to form a seal, Itachi felt a surge of relief as he caught Madara's eye inspecting what could have been a sequence of seals.

Instead, it was the beginning of Epheremal, and maybe Madara had forgotten about Itachi's ability to control Genjutsu with just his finger, but Itachi was aware that he might need to back out and attack, especially if Madara had something ready.

But, for now, they were in Itachi's control, in Epheremal. It was exactly the same as the landscape where they had been fighting, down to the last crater and hill, thanks to the Sharingan's memorising properties, and maybe he had a chance.

Itachi faced Madara, willing his Sharingan to slow the time a little, draw Madara's attention towards him. It was akin to baiting an angry bear, but Itachi needed Madara's focus to stay on him so that he wouldn't notice the layered illusion around him as much.

Itachi needed thirty seconds to secure the Genjutsu, an extremely long time when you were unsure whether your opponent knew they were caught in it or not, and it was in these thirty seconds that distraction was crucial. If Itachi failed before they were secure in here, Madara would break free without Itachi noticing until it was too late.

"It is a shame you picked the losing side, Itachi, you could have become great. The Uchiha clan were feared by all, and the Uchiha that are left now... our names are legendary, our Sharingan is supreme... and here you are, choosing Konoha over a beautiful land."

As Madara spoke, the younger Uchiha narrowed his eyes, assessing whether Madara had started talking as a distraction, or merely at the lapse in battle. The probability that it was the latter was higher, but he could not discard the thought that Madara may be planning something.

"How is a land where freedom is decided by a lunatic beautiful?" Stalling was the best method now, and Madara would expect Itachi to give a little back in the conversation, Madara always did.

"Exactly, so why are the five Kages still ruling? They want peace? Why do they start wars. If love is what is supposed to break the cycle of hatred, how come there is no one with enough love for the whole world?" Madara chuckled, holding one hand up slightly to cup the air, resting near his shoulder.

Itachi had ten more seconds, ten seconds before he could work in his own space and tire Madara out. It might be enough time, or it could be too much, and Itachi worked hard not to show his internal butterflies.

"You're forgetting the newest Kage, the one you seek to kill."

Again, Madara chuckled. "Uzumaki Naruto? Hah, he may be able to forgive everyone, but there are some people who will enduce hatred in his heart. You think he will come here and expect me to be a good person? That is what love is, Itachi, you expect the world to be loving and jolly, that everything is sunshine and rainbows."

Itachi shook his head, aware that he was almost complete in preparations. He should be thinking of his first move by now, but instead he was willing to banter with Madara, prove that he was wrong.

"You're wrong." Itachi's voice was startlingly firm, albeit quiet, and Madara turned his eyes to look fully at Itachi, wondering what he would say next. "Love isn't about happiness, or hugging everything and everyone... it's about being able to put yourself on the line, sacrifice your own life, if the one you love stands even a slim chance better than they had before.

"You won't understand it now, but at one time in your life, you knew the importance of sacrifice. You would at least have understood that people do stupid things, crazy things, for people they care about... your eyes for example. If you loved your brother as much as you claim, you wouldn't have just taken them without some sacrifice on his part. Though I may personally believe you stole them, there had to be a thought behind your theft... can you say now that love is a weak emotion? That it's not worth its weight?"

Itachi took a deep breath and summoned his chakra, collected shuriken in his hands, preparing to throw the projectiles. Madara was still for a moment before he simply just looked down, hands falling to his sides.

"Yes, there may have been love once... but look where it brought me, Itachi. Love is what destroys us all."

Itachi threw the shuriken, aiming for Madara's arms, and the man was sucessfully pinned back, a tree rising out of the Genjutsu. Madara turned his head to inspect their surroundings and Itachi knew he had made the connection. It was time that he would be trying to get out, but at least now Epheremal would inform him if Madara tapped into his chakra, in case the man attempted a Jutsu.

"Very clever, and I must admit you had me fooled. You always were a prodigy amongst Uchiha, even to me... and if you had the Eternal Mangekyou, I would be no match for you."

Madara twisted in the Genjutsu's hold and Itachi felt the warning that he was trying to break free. He sent chakra into the illusion, Sharingan scanning for any weaknesses and pin pointing where Madara was the whole time.

The shuriken that had been holding Madara burst into a flock of birds, ravens to be exact. They tittered amongst themselves, swooping away from Madara, and the Uchiha watched as Itachi seemed to attract them. Their bodies swirled in on themselves and they became shuriken again, ready for Itachi to throw if necessary.

Epheremal gave Itachi the power to see the closest person to the victim, and so it was no surprise when a clear Uchiha came to his eyes, but the striking likliness he had to Sasuke was the surprise. Uchiha Izuna, younger brother of Uchiha Madara, was the one weakness.

Izuna's face was mashed onto the mask, and Itachi knew Madara could feel the change. In satisfaction, he watched as Madara's visible eye widened, and narrowed, Sharingan undoubtedly spinning.

Of course he knew it was an illusion, he could probably see through it, but Itachi was able to detain him for the moment, and that was the key.

Pulling his body out from Epheremal, and keeping his right eye focused on the illusion around Madara, Itachi's hands blurred through the forty-two hand seals that made up the Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu, sending the dragon of condensed water straight to Madara.

Itach felt the warning of Epheremal, and knew that Madara was about to break free of the Genjutsu. Itachi hoped it would be enough time for him to land a hit, break Madara's concentration enough for him to risk summoning Susano'o. If Madara was held back by the water dragon, Itachi would have enough time for the summoning and to seal him before he broke free.

As the water dragon hit Madara, Itachi felt the ground underneath his feet sink, and it was too late for him to jump out of the way. The swamp Madara had undoubtedly created bubbled around him, the marshes grabbing at his ankles and dying to sink him completely under the mud.

The world errupted beneath Itachi and he fell to his knees, attempting to stabalise himself. Though the intent was appreciated, the voice that rang out with the actions was less than welcome, and Itachi found himself kneeling on the back of an orange and blue toad, staring out at Naruto as blue eyes danced, the words of Kuchiyose no Jutsu ringing around them.

It wasn't just Itachi's attention that had been caught, though, and Itachi noticed Killer Bee stiffen; they weren't alone it seemed.

 **水没**

Naruto glanced sideways for what had to be the thousandth time since they had set off walking again and noticed the way Sasuke's lips were set in a thin line. Sympathy rose up for the Uchiha and Naruto almost, almost, reached out to comfort his best friend, before realising that maybe Sasuke wasn't the same Sasuke, that he didn't want the comfort that could be offered.

That was just the type of person he was. Sasuke would shoulder so many emotions for such a long time before allowing himself to be free of his burden. It was Sasuke through and through, and no matter how many times Naruto rammed his head into the wall of Uchiha Sasuke, he wouldn't get through. Pure stamina and force wouldn't win this battle.

He was so close and yet so far away, and Naruto wanted to reach out, grab Sasuke by the shoulders and stare him in the eye before taking him in a bear hug, reassure him that everything would be okay, and that all they needed to do was stick together.

Naruto knew that this was wasn't his, for the moment at least, and Sasuke had demons to put to rest, but he wanted to help. He wanted to let him know he was there, no matter what choices he made, but it was so impossible to do so... Sasuke would never forgive him for one, and he's most likely be killed in the process of getting between Sasuke and his goals.

Regretfully, it wouldn't be the first time Sasuke had hurt him.

Naruto could feel electricity around them and knew, without hearing or seeing it, that someone was fighting up ahead. It confused him; no one knew of his capture that would enable them to arrive here before him, much less where the location was.

Sasuke stopped suddenly and Naruto realised why when he saw the huge bulk of Killer Bee, his head turning towards them sharply. Naruto shook his head, and Killer Bee untensed his muscles, raising an eyebrow in question instead.

Ignoring the Host, Naruto turned his attention to the fight before them and his heart leapt into his mouth when he saw Itachi at the centre of viscious tendrils of water, lashing out to the masked Uchiha. It was a frightening display, the speed and power at which the water was travelling at would be enough to shatter a skull, Naruto was certain, and yet the assault stopped when the Doton dragon was eliminated, Itachi standing still as the water fell, his hands moving together to form a seal...

... Before they dropped back down, Itachi moving one leg forwards a little more than the other and Madara ceasing all movements.

Naruto risked a glance to Sasuke, who was understandably curious to his brother's skills when he wasn't fighting for his life, and saw the wide eyes that marked Sasuke's hidden love for Itachi.

Resisting the urge to grab Sasuke's wrist just to let him know he was there, Naruto looked back to where the two Uchiha stood still, and realised that they must be battling with Genjutsu for the moment.

What Genjutsu had Itachi used? Tsukuyomi perhaps? Naruto had never experienced that Jutsu, and was thankful for it as it had sent Kakashi into exhaustion and brought Sasuke close to madness. Perhaps the technique Itachi had used against him before they went to find Gaara? Or was it one that he didn't know of?

The three nin on the sidelines watched as silence emitted from where Itachi and Madara stood, and Killer Bee shifted, drawing Naruto's attention. Naruto was thankful that Killer Bee was listening to his slight actions, in not drawing attention to Sasuke at this moment, but it wasn't simply because of what he had done... someone else was watching them.

Hardly forty seconds had passed since Itachi had stayed still and the ground errupted into swamp, marshes and dirty water covering his feet, sucking him lower into the earth. Naruto moved forwards, a Kage Bunshin already ahead of him and summoning a toad in the mud. If anyone was going to get trapped by the swamp it would be Madara, and Naruto had fought in a swamp before, back when Jiraiya had called him up to find Tsunade.

Gamakichi took a moment to survey the fight before a stillness gathered over the group, Sasuke stepping from behind the bush at the same time as Zetsu rose up out of the ground, mismatched eyes scanning the area and a leering smile showing his pointed teeth off to the group.

"Taki will be a few moments."

Naruto was conscious of Sasuke tensing, and his mind wandered over his plan. Would it still work? Could Sasuke pull everything off in front of so many people... he had only planned for it to be Naruto and Madara, and seeing Itachi had obviously shaken him.

No one moved, every Shinobi assessing the situation before instigating the inevitable clash. It was, as expected, Sasuke who moved first, bringing his Kusanagi upwards, slicing through the ropes that bound Naruto's hands together. He closed his eyes for a moment before the Sharingan flared to life, calling to the other members of his clan.

Naruto had to credit him; when Itachi flickered into focus next to him, Sasuke didn't flinch, nor did he stiffen. He simple stood still, eyes focused on Madara and Zetsu, waiting for one to make their response move.

Naruto smiled as Killer Bee walked up, ignoring the pounding questions as to why he and Itachi were here, watching Sasuke walk towards Madara instead.

"I brought you the Jinchuuriki," Sasuke's voice was bitter and Naruto clenched his fist.

"It seems you managed to do one thing right after all then, Sasuke."

Itachi glanced to Naruto and his eyes widened as he took in Naruto's blue eyes, his teeth clearly biting the inside of his lip. Naruto was preparing for something, could it possibly mean that...

Naruto closed his eyes for a brief second, remembering what Sasuke had forced him to agree to so many hours ago, even though it seemed like longer.

 **水没**

"Naruto... Naruto, listen to me, you have no choice, but this is what you will do."

Naruto's eyes widened as he took in Sasuke's panicked tone. They didn't have much time for whatever it was, and if Sasuke was willing to speak to him after what he had just done...

"You need to listen carefully to what I'm going to say. Don't trust me when we meet Madara. I'll change, I'll be cold and harsh and I'll say things... I'll say things I wouldn't normally. I'll call you all sorts of things, make you want to hate me because It'll seem like I hate you... just don't trust it."

Naruto looked into dark eyes in confusion. His head still hurt and the speed at which Sasuke was talking was painful to understand. Something within him told him he needed to understand it, though, and so he forced himself to.

"I want to kill him."

Those five words startled Naruto into coherency and he sat up, grabbing at Sasuke's cloak and pulling him closer.

"What? Who? Itachi?"

Sasuke actually chuckled then and loosened Naruto's fingers from the material on his chest.

"No you idiot, Itachi did what he had to do... besides, isn't killing your brother once enough?"

Naruto almost laughed at that, had he not been so worried for Sasuke.

"Madara. I'll kill him. You don't need to know why, regardless whether you're Hokage or not." Sasuke paused, "Though you will always be the village idiot to me, dobe."

From the soft smile on Sasuke's lips, Naruto knew he had been more to Sasuke at one point than he had realised, and a twinge of regret welled up inside of him.

"If we had been different... if I hadn't have gone to Orochimaru and... But what's the point of saying that, Naruto?" Sasuke's hands began to shake and Naruto feared for him in that moment; how much was Sasuke willing to lose himself in order to get to Madara?

"I'll kill him, but I need him to think I won't first. So don't trust me, even if I hurt you... it's not me, it's him."

They sat in silence for a moment before Naruto made to reach forwards, comfort Sasuke in some way.

"Madara's waiting. Move."

 **水没**

So Naruto watched as Sasuke moved forwards, taking to Madara's side as was expected of him. Itachi's shoulders slumped slightly as he noticed the position and Naruto fought his instint; he wanted to tell Itachi how much of a lie this was and yet it would put everything they were about fight for on the line.

He couldn't do that... not even for Itachi. It would mean that Sasuke would be killed, and Itachi would understand the pain he felt if it saved a life. Naruto knew that without having to thoroughly inspect it, it was how well he knew Itachi.

Smiling a secret smile, Naruto knew that it was possible one of them could die. He was the Hokage and it made sense for him to say that he would sacrifice himself for Itachi, but the truth was that he would sacrifice himself anyway. It could possibly kill his friends, and it was selfish of him, but to see Itachi lifeless before him... Naruto didn't think he could take that pain.

Killer Bee stood behind Naruto, whispering that Sasuke's replacement team had shown up and were waiting, the three ninja on the outskirts, hiding in the trees and obviously waiting for the moment they were summoned by Sasuke.

Hardly a team then... Team Seven would be by Sasuke's side in a moment, regardless to whether they were needed or not. Sasuke was just the type of person who spoke through actions, and now he needed Naruto not to give away his cover.

As Zetsu blurred through the trio, slamming into Killer Bee and taking out the Jinchuuriki from the protective stance, Madara took one step forwards, a step that left Sasuke slightly behind him.

Naruto glanced over to Killer Bee and noted, with satisfaction, that the Jinchuuriki was having no trouble with the man; Zetsu was pinned against the tree with Killer Bee's blades for the moment, unable to move unless he wanted to be chopped into pieces.

The sound of birds was the only warning Itachi got as Chidori encircled its prey, and the Uchiha watched in fascination and horror as Sasuke surprised him yet again.

Sasuke stood behind Madara, one hand outstretched slightly and a halo of lightning encircling the masked head. Madara was frozen where he stood and Naruto relaxed, tension he hadn't know had been building off vanishing.

It was far from over, but with Madara snared in a trap like this, perhaps it would be over sooner than they had thought.

Or maybe they were just being optimistic; after all, Itachi mused, their opponent was Uchiha Madara, a slippery worm in the Akatsuki and a man man by nature... The uneasy feeling in his gut rose up again as he looked at Sasuke, alone and shrouded in blue light...

"If he needs your help, don't you hesitate."

Itachi looked to his partner and nodded at his words.

"Thank you," he whispered and followed Naruto's suit, slipping into a defensive position and preparing for the worst.

Because, with Uchiha Madara, the worst was always yet to come.

 **Burning**

 **aflame; on fire**

 **燃焼**

Sasuke was standing calmly behind Madara, one hand coated in his Chidori and gripping onto the back of his mask. The lightning coursed over the fabric strap, wrapping round to the front in the blink of an eye, condensing to a fine point and spiralling into the small gap in the orange front, making for Madara's eye.

When he was sure the man wasn't about to move, Sasuke let out a huff of air in a smirk,

"Let me tell you about the man consumed with revenge..." He paused, eyeing Naruto slowly and his smirk growing, "A man called Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto watched as Sasuke caught Madara, and from a bystander's point of view, it looked almost as if Madara was wearing a crown of lightning. The Sharingan that had spun in its circlet of orange was hidden by blinding chakra and, out of the corner of his eye, Naruto noticed Itachi shift, ready to interveane where Sasuke was concerned.

"You believed he would follow you to the ends of the earth."

Madara made no sound, nor movement, and everyone tensed, waiting for the moment where he would retaliate.

"You believed he would wade so far into revenge that he would forget what the true goal was..."

Sasuke seemed to tighten his control, the chirping of Chidori increasing as his anger swelled and the light pulsing outwards, no doubt strikingly close to Madara's pupil.

"You killed Uchiha alongside Itachi. Itachi... Aniki had his reasons, he was forced to do it!" Sasuke's voice was rising, his anger steaming, and no one moved to stop him. "You! You did it because of a feud... you did it because you wanted revenge..."

Chidori faded into air as Sasuke dropped his arm, his face turned into a bitter snarl as he grabbed Madara by the cloak, throwing a fist to the swirled mask as his anger took full control.

"WHY SHOULD I FOLLOW YOU?"

The wind howled in Naruto's ears and a leaf blew across his vision, yet it was enough. Enough time for Sasuke to be pushed back, a hand in his stomach, and he fell into the water behind him, sinking abnormally quickly.

"Because," Madara turned his attention to Itachi, Naruto and Killerbee, his eye lazily trailing between the three and Zetsu. "I am your God."

 **燃焼**

Sasuke was sinking, oddly enough. He was sinking further and further, his body a deadweight in the river. It was a calm flow today, strangely, and so his body simply drifted down, not pulled by a current or twisted by an underflow... and it was deep enough that the light ahead seemed so far away.

This is it, he thought as his hands brushed slippery river plants, cemented by their roots to the river floor. This is how I'm going to die.

A flash darted across the water above him, hitting the surface and sending dizzying ripples into Sasuke's vision, and he smiled, submerged in the soft darkness, running his fingers through the algae. Small fishes darted over his body, skirting around his fingertips and flipping their fins as they determined whether he was a threat or not.

For the first time in years, Sasuke felt free of everything, every little burden that had been hefted upon his shoulders and every little stab in the back. In this watery world, his place of rest, he was serene, the water lessening his body weight and his thoughts.

It was a calming flow, eroding the troubles of his mind and soul. Sasuke reasoned that he could make his peace with the world if he was to die like this, and though it may not be glorious or heroic, it was peaceful.

Bubbles escaped Sasuke's mouth as he fought to retain air in his lungs. He was running out of oxygen now, it was obvious that his maximum peak was now, and not being inclined to water as an element, Sasuke knew no water Jutsu that could help him here.

Not that he particularly minded, he thought as he turned to look at a nearby rock and came face to face with inky tendrils, panicking before he realised it was only his hair, flowing around him as if he were a merman instead of a human.

Darkness blocked out the last of his light and Sasuke's eyes widened as they turned to the surface water, and he imagined that he could feel the sun's heat boring down on him one last time.

More bubbles escaped their human prison and Sasuke gripped gently to a nearby rock as he swallowed an uncomfortable amount of water, the liquid streaming up his nostrils and burning, choking, as they passed through his windpipe. They reached his lungs and Sasuke coughed, bubbles errupting yet his hand never straying from the iron grip it held.

With a final look to the surface, and almost laughing at the huge ripples, almost as if some beast had charged through the water, Sasuke felt his eyes roll back and he slipped away with a smile, ignoring the grabbing motions of the fishes and plants around him as his body became light as a feather.

He was just a dark feather in an inky pool, sinking down, submerged by the weightless world and free of his curses.

 **燃焼**

As Sasuke sunk, Naruto and Itachi darted forwards, facing Madara head on. It could be a potentially ridiculous plan, but Naruto felt no other way than to challenge this deluded man. Naruto was smart enough to glance to Killer Bee, however, and nodded as the man snatched his blades and blocked the sword coming towards them from Sasuke's former team member, Suigetsu.

Itachi held his hand up, halting Naruto's progress for the moment, and the Hokage obeyed, understanding what was needed of him. Madara had hurt Sasuke, ruined the clan and Itachi was the only one in the position who would be able to do what he was about to; talk.

"You're mad, Madara," Itachi commented, eyes looking directly into the orange mask.

"Ah, indeed. If this is what you call madness, Itachi, need I remind you what made me so mad? The betrayal of a great clan, and the blood of my relatives on my fingertips. It's the blood that stains, the blood that seeps under your skin..." Madara turned his head a little and Naruto imagined a sick, twisting smile on his lips.

"I can't imagine what it would feel like to kill the person I loved, would you? Itachi?"

Though Madara's questioning could have been innocent, the way in which he said Itachi's name at the end made Naruto bristle. Naruto knew Itachi had a lover before the massacre, knew he had killed him, but, with Madara, there was always something unsaid, something more.

Naruto knew he was hinting to his own death. It would be the one thing that would get to Itachi, as he had sacrificed everything, even Sasuke and his truth to his brother, for Naruto.

"Maybe you'll find peace in death. It must be an amazing feat, escaping from death like you did before, but I cannot see it happening again. There is such thing as luck, Itachi, and you were born unlucky."

Naruto watched Itachi's eyes flicker dangerously, a sign that the Uchiha was preparing himself to use Mangekyou. Blood had stained his cheek where the Amaterasu had worked its way, and though it looked shocking, Naruto was certain it didn't hint to a physical weakness.

"And you were born cursed."

Madara laughed at Itachi's words, shrugging his shoulders.

"Perhaps."

In the blink of an eye, Itachi had moved forwards, taking the left side of Madara, and Naruto was on his trail, running on the right side of Madara. Their target span suddenly, hands outstretched, and Naruto winced as a thin strip of fire brushed past his moving arm.

Itachi had been more successful, foreseeing the Katon Jutsu and countering with a small pocket of water, shot in the right direction. It was Itachi who was the one to duck as Madara finally touched his scythe, swinging the blade in a deadly arc and spinning, kicking his leg out halfway through the spin in attempt to connect his heel into Itachi.

Madara's heel met Itachi's ribcage and he was pushed backwards onto the river water.

Upon instinct, chakra mounted up to sustain his balance and instantly Itachi formed a spiral of water, whispering the Jutsu as if it was a sacred spell. In thin rivulets, the water spiralled around his body, gaining weight and thickness as more and more water joined the already existing threads.

The water around him rippled as Itachi took a step back, eyes scanning Madara's hands, and Naruto watched in fascination at his first view of an Uchiha versus an Uchiha.

There was so much power and skill involved, even if it appeared they were simply watching each other. Each of the Uchiha were trying to trap the other in a Genjutsu, and it was obvious that the strain would show on their overall performance... had they not been Uchihas.

It was an amazing thing, to see an Uchiha perform. The clan had been bred into war, had breathed and evolved in wars and had the perfect bloodline and body structure to take part in a war. There was also the other factor of most of them preferring war, smiling at the idea of a confrontation, a challenge, or simply wanting to feel the adrenaline rush.

Even Itachi. He was a pacifist, yes, and had spent almost all of his teenage to adulthood life in a ruthless organisation. Back when Naruto had thought Itachi was 'one of the bad guys', he couldn't deny the man had talent.

The leap between an Uchiha being able to use the Sharingan and someone like Kakashi (who was an amazingly talented man without the Dojutsu) was highlighted when Itachi had taken a few minutes to defeat not only Kakashi, but two other Jounin as well.

And he had been holding back.

Of course, extended use of the Sharingan did lead to major health impacts, a disease that claimed your life, but it seemed like a risk that could, potentially, be a simple one. There were a large number of other techniques that required blood or death, such as Kuchiyose or the Shiki Fuujin, and a bloodline as powerful as the Sharingan seems like it would pay a high price.

So here they were; Itachi and Madara, to legendary Shinobi, one of them arguably the most infamous Shinobi ever, and the other potentially one of the most deceptive ever. Water still spiralled around Itachi, and Naruto could feel heat radiating from Madara.

For the moment, Naruto was halway between the fight with Madara and the fight Killer Bee was fighting. Though he was not participating in either, he could see both of them, was aware of both of them, and saw that his fellow Jinchuuriki had no trouble staving off the man with Zabuza's cleaver, and it looked as though the orange haired man was holding something back, his arms shaking as he made blows.

As for the woman, she was nowhere to be seen. Naruto suspected that she might not be a combatative type, and it seemed as though he had been proved correct.

Zetsu was still watching, mouth on his white side twitching every now and again, almost as if he was speaking to his other half... which in reality, he probably was.

Fire suddenly blossomed across the river, burning in a dragon's maw towards Itachi. Naruto thought it a foolish move; after all, Itachi had full power in water and fire was weakest, and it was predictable when the water that had spiralled around Itachi increased rapidly, a dragon bursting in a flurry of teardrops and hurtling to face its fire cousin.

Naruto's feet darted forwards suddenly as he realised why Madara hadn't been concerned with the fact that the Katon dragon would be stopped. Madara had used the flames to cloak his progress, and he had neared Itachi to a dangerous level, aiming to capture Itachi inside a Genjutsu while he was distracted.

Naruto knew what had to be done; if he could get inside of Madara's illusion then he could somehow bend the space with a mixture of the Kyuubi and Sage Chakra. The mark of the Kyuubi on his arm twinged, already beginning to collect Sage Chakra, and he took a deep breath, biting his thumb as he called for the Kogitsune-Maru.

As expected, Madara hadn't reacted to the sword's name, so engrossed in tracking Itachi, and it was only when Naruto had moved the sword, slicing the air with the sharp blade, that Madara turned, eyes burning and scythe locking.

The chain that held the curved blade to Madara strained, clinking as it manuevered through the delicate passes Naruto made, and that was when Naruto felt it.

The Genjutsu had fallen on him rather than Itachi. It would be now that Itachi would get Sasuke, and two Uchihas could take down the man Naruto was holding captive for the moment.

Because even though it appeared to be a Genjutsu, and the caster Madara, Naruto had a plan he had to form, a plan that even Sasuke wouldn't have been able to think up, and it would take all of his willpower to maintain the illusion of Madara's control, dealing with the Kyuubi and controlling his Sage Chakra all at the same time. And though it would be an excruciating amount of work... if he could pull it off... it would be worth every ounce.

 **燃焼**

Itachi watched as the Suiton and Katon dragons dispersed, and saw Naruto's Kogitsune-Maru hanging by his thigh. Madara's scythe lay out of his hands, the blade dug deep in the earth, but that wasn't the startling thing; they were both as still as statues.

Remembering that he was standing on the river, Itachi suddenly realised what Naruto wanted and cursed, hoping he hadn't been to long in distracting Madara. In all honesty his plan had been to get Naruto to retrieve Sasuke, but beggers couldn't be choosers and he was more than willing to save his little brother himself.

Itachi knew he didn't have that long, no matter what illusions Naruto was under. If the Hokage was kept in the Mangekyou Sharingan's illusion (no doubt Madara would be installing whatever use of the Mangekyou he could in effort against Naruto, to weaken him to the point of near death) then there would be nothing even the Kyuubi could do after so much time. it was physically harrowing, yes, but the mental pressures would eventually become so great that Naruto's brain would shut down.

It was all a matter of time; in Tsukuyomi, Itachi controlled the time perfectly, and with Madara, he would manipulate Naruto to keep him under his control with ease.

First he had to find Sasuke. If Sasuke died now, everything Itachi had sets his hopes in, and everything Naruto wished for for his best friend, would die. There would forever be a hole in Naruto as much as there would Itachi, and while Itachi was not willing to simply exchange one life for another, Sasuke would be pivotal in destroying Madara.

He sunk, chakra dispelling from his feet and coiling back into his stomach. Itachi used the underwater motion technique to propel himself, and great ripples spread around him, despite the sweeping current.

The Sharingan flickered and failed, as Itachi had expected it to; it was a bloodline doused with fire, and complete submersion in water had found Itachi willingly expressing his Suiton element as opposed to Katon. This resulted in his eyes itching, causing Itachi's natural body process to be to fade out the Sharingan for focus on water.

The river was surprisingly deep, more than ten feet down into the ground, and the current was strong to a weak swimmer. Itachi was unsure how much swimming Sasuke was used to, but ventured that perhaps he hadn't exactly had the most time for trivial things such as swimming. If he was weak from the blow he had recieved then it was likely the he could have been dragged down or away rather than swimming, unable to resist.

The lower regions of the river were murky, mud and stones kicked up by the current and wildlife residing in the riverbed. Itachi knew then that he had no other choice; he had to use the Sharingan to pinpoint Sasuke's chakra.

It was possible that Sasuke had begun the first stages of the mammalian diving reflex, restricting the flow of blood to areas such as the fingers and toes, his heart rate slowing down and entering bradycardia, and then slipping into characteristic apnea. It was from this reflex, holding his breath, that Sasuke could die, slipping into a blackout.

Fear gripped at Itachi as the Sharingan failed to listen, instead slipping away with an irritated scritch. A second time it flared to life, and Itachi instantly caught sight of Sasuke, fingers losely gripping the riverbed flora and his body stationary.

Moving as though he were a fish, Itachi used his chakra to dart towards Sasuke, smiling as he finally looped an arm around his chest, holding the younger male against him and pushing against the riverbed floor, rising through the currents and up through the surface.

Itachi surfaced, pulling Sasuke against him as his head broke into air too. The important thing now was to get Sasuke out of the cold river and warming up, get his airway clear and his heart beating - if he had progressed that far. The water in the river had been cold and this gave Sasuke a better chance at survival, but it depended on how Sasuke was.

After all, if he really didn't want to wake up, the chances that he could die increased dramatically.

Glancing over to the stationary Naruto and Madara, and then nodding as Killer Bee dodged the swipe of the Kubikiri Hōchō and retaliated, all seven blades whirling and dancing, the wielder's face contorted in a smile. Itachi was honestly happy for him; through a battle that could quite easily change the outcome of the Shinobi world (if Madara won, the last two Bijuu would be his), he looked as if he was enjoying it. Itachi could see just by a quick glance that the power Killer Bee had was immense, and he could handle probably more skilled fighters than he was up against, and defeat them without a second thought...

He was playing with them. Which was exactly what they needed; keep Madara on his own.

Itachi looked down to Sasuke, brushing away the dark hair that had stuck to his forehead. It had grown, he noticed, and seemed to be growing the front into a strange, spiked fringe. Itachi felt his own hair sticking against his face a surpressed a smile; Sasuke really did look a lot more like Itachi than anyone gave him credit for.

Pressing two fingers to the inside of his wrist, and then confirming at his throat, Itachi was relieved to find a pulse. It was slower than it should be, and perhaps a lot weaker than he could have hoped for, but it was there. All he needed to do was get him breathing again, and so Itachi lowered his mouth, pushing air forcibly into Sasuke's lungs.

He was rewarded a few moments later when Sasuke retched, curling over to the side and gripping his stomach. He gasped in desperate need for oxygen and Itachi sat back, rubbing his back as he used to do to Sasuke when he was a child.

"You'll have to use your own chakra to warm your body up, I'm afraid that anything I attempt will burn your skin."

Itachi didn't know if Sasuke was aware that any attempt on warming him up that came from a source other than his own body could be potentially dangerous. Only Sasuke knew how much heat it took before it burnt, and Katon Jutsu were volatile, unstable at best. A slight error could result in tremendous damage before anything could be done.

Sasuke nodded and Itachi braced his arm around his brother's back, supporting him as shaking hands pressed together, forming the seal most associated with Katon techniques. It was a simple gathering of chakra and converting it into heat energy, and then supplying this special chakra to the whole body.

A minute later, Sasuke's skin had returned to a somewhat healthy colour, still deathly pale, but his lips weren't bordering purple anymore, and he looked as if he was recovering rather than dying.

"Wh... what happened?" His voice, still unused to beign used after being submerged under water, was halting and slightly whispered.

"Naruto and Madara have lapsed into a Genjutsu, cast by Madara. The longer Naruto's in there, the greater his chance of being severly injured. Only someone of remarkable Genjutsu skills could stand against Madara's mental onslaught, and I've been blocking it for years now. If he tried it against you, I have full belief that you would be able to combat it, but even you would face some damage... and you have the advantage of the Sharingan."

Itachi watched with pride as Sasuke pieced it together, his eyes widening as he realised the true danger Naruto was in.

"What about the Kyuubi? Wouldn't that heal him?"

Itachi shook his head, "The Kyuubi can only heal so much, and I believe that Madara will use him against Naruto. When Madara discovers the Kyuubi is willingly bonded to me, he will become even angrier."

Sasuke glanced up, eyes locking with Itachi's as he noticed how his aniki seemed to be hugging him.

"Madara will be unable to control the one thing he had bet on being able to control in this whole situation. What he may do to Naruto inside Genjutsu, and you know how Madara will not give up if he sees an end result... I fear for Naruto."

Sasuke smiled and Itachi blinked.

"We'll just have to get Naruto out of there then, won't we? Once a dobe, always a dobe... even as Hokage he needs saving. How he managed to survive without me, I'll have no idea."

Itachi smiled a little in return, dodging the blunt upheaval of Sasuke's betrayal to see it as it was; a peace offering. Though Sasuke may rage at him afterwards, demand he leave him alone, for now, they had a truce as brothers to rescue Naruto.

 **燃焼**

Naruto's arm tingled, in a world outside of the one he was in now. There was a reassurance in the collection of Sage Chakra, storing it in the singed mark for later use. Fukasaku had been unable to fuse with Naruto and so they had put aside the possible problems with Sage Chakra until later, and then the Kyuubi had volunteered his gift.

With the Kogitsune-Maru and the Kyuubi working in tandem, powered by Naruto, there was surely nothing that could stop him, surely nothing that could stand before them and pose a threat.

Except Naruto was not that naive. He knew that Madara could turn everything on its head in an instant, turn the nightmares Naruto had tried to stave off for years into realities, and the world could very well crumble in his care.

The Genjutsu shifted and Naruto's eyes darted around uncomfortable. Though he had leapt into this plan, the truth was that he still hated the illusionary techniques. He had never been that good at them, and even now he still struggled with a few aspects some people considered the simplistics.

It was understandable that he was wary; against Madara you would be a fool not to be,

The Genjutsu fell, suddenly, and Naruto was standing in a white, endless nothing. There was no sky, no floor, no up, no down, no left, no right... and he felt so small. Compared to this space, compared to this blank emptyness... he was nothing.

Not even before the Kyuubi had Naruto felt this scared, everything had been taken away from him and there was nothing nearby, no stranger, no enemy, no land... he felt like a child again, with thousands of eyes (some non-existent) staring at him for a burden he could not understand.

A circle of orange appeared at his eye level and Naruto found himself watching the circular apparation of Madara, his black-cloaked body a stain to the stark white around them.

"Naruto," he greeted, lone eye glinting in light that shouldn't exist.

This is a Genjutsu, don't forget that, Naruto whispered in his head, and he stared ahead to Madara. If he was going to confront the man, then he was going to do it on his own terms, head on in his own way.

Suddenly the scenery changed, whipping out from underneath his feet as Madara moved, Sharingan spinning.

The Kyuubi was the first one to move, the water in the surrounding darkness sloshing lazily with the giant ripples of the fox. Madara turned automatically, hand resting on one of the bars that contained the fox, stroking them almost lovingly.

"What would happen if I removed the seal?"

Naruto's blood chilled, hoping that they were simply in the world of Genjutsu. Underneath, he knew that somehow Madara had 'seen' inside of him, much like Sasuke had back at Orochimaru's all that time ago. The Kyuubi was the evidence for this as he bared his teeth, stepping back from the cage.

"Oh?" Madara had noticed the fox's defensive reaction and watched in curiosity as he inched his fingers towards the seal. "What if I do this?"

The Kyuubi backed down, muzzle hitting the floor as the Sharingan illuminated slightly, Madara laughing at the result. Naruto stared in confusion, before looking at the glint in the fox's eye and understanding.

In bonding with the Uchiha blood in Itachi, the Kyuubi had compensated for the bond Madara had set up long ago. The Kyuubi had to be in 'service' to an Uchiha. It was the way Madara had warped his chakra, twisted it until it craved the chakra of an Uchiha, of the Sharingan. When he had been sealed, Naruto had taken away the presence of the bond, and instead substituted his own chakra.

This had only remained effective until he was sixteen, where the seal eventually began to weaken a little, the Kyuubi's chakra needing the stabilisation of Uchiha chakra. Naruto wondered if it was partially due to this factor that Itachi's Mangekyou had revealled what happened at the time of the Uchiha Massacre, or simply some twist of fate.

And so, rather than choosing to be enslaved to Madara, the Kyuubi had accepted Naruto's choice of partner, choosing him for himself too.

Here it appeared that the Kyuubi was submitting to him, but in reality, the Kyuubi was merely reading the looks he had seen so many times before, reacting accordingly and thinking of how his revenge would pan out.

That was something else the Bijuu had; he had planned Madara's demise for nearly seventeen years, with little else to do.

"It's been a long time, Madara..." The Kyuubi's voice was low and hostile, teeth bared and pupils thin slices in red irises. He was angrier than Naruto had ever seen him, and it was an understandable anger.

"No honourifics this time?"

In reply, the Kyuubi snarled and rose to his full height, dwarfing Madara. Naruto saw the Uchiha narrow his eyes, attempting to reign the fox in as he undoubtedly assumed he could. When he realised the Kyuubi was beyond his reach, Madara allowed a line of chakra to sink into the water, heading towards the darkened seal.

"That won't work, you've been sloppy Madara. If I had to suggest a time since, I would suggest from the beginning... or maybe from the moment you allowed Namikaze Minato to seal me into his son."

The fox lowered his jaws, mough resting near the bars as Madara looked in eyes widened impossibly.

"Your bond you left was able to be salvaged by your relative. Naruto accepted him and I followed. If I had been able to bond with Naruto then I would have given my life... I have seen how much Itachi means to him and now would give my life up for him. It's far more than you ever inspired."

Madara made a choking sound and whirled round, water swirls echoing around the sealed area, his eyes blazing with anger.

"You!" His finger pointed to Naruto and his mask shifted with the force of his words. "Every single thing you do manages to ruin everything. How can a simple idiot give so much! The world hates you, you're nothing but a monster, a beast. Give your power to me, Naruto, and your village will be left alone."

Naruto knew he didn't mean it, and knew he was stalling for time. Madara had just found out that his back up plan would never work, and so the time he needed was to think up a new plan.

The world started shifting, and Naruto was aware once again of the Genjutsu they were under. His eyes itched a little, his head beginning to form a headache, and yet he held firm. Across from him Madara locked eyes, their link of eyesight maintaining as they whirled through thousands of scenes, returning to the blank white from before.

In his hands, Naruto could feel the Kogitsune-Maru humming, responding to the Sage Chakra and Madara's obvious intent. HIs head burned with ache, and yet Naruto knew he had to hold on that little bit longer unti the Kogitsune literally sung with power.

"You're nothing..."

The voice was a whisper, the calm proclamation of a crazed man. Madara was born from hatred and war, driven by revenge and injustice... and convinced the world was nothing but dirt.

"It's about time..."

Naruto shuddered as the Genjutsu was dropped and he sank to the ground, eyes wide as Madara placed two hands together, collecting an insane amount of chakra. Everyone around them stilled, watching as darkness seemed to deepen, shadows looming, focused solely on Madara.

A wry chuckle broke into the group and Naruto risked a glance to Zetsu,

"It's time for the Moon's Eye Plan."

The chuckle continued, darkness gathering, and Naruto knew he would be hopeless to stop the creation of whatever this was...

And from looking at Sasuke and Itachi, neither of them had even heard of something as the Moon's Eye Plan.

Biting his lip, Naruto prepared for the worst and glanced up at the sky, sucking in a small breath as he saw the thin bodied flight of a falcon, wings beating as it glanced downwards. Naruto looked at the bird's eye in surprise before turning back to Madara, his eyes closing slowly and his lip raising slightly.

When he opened his eyes again, red circles framed them and his teeth had elongated, the Kyuubi seeping through in his anger.

"I shall see the Gods and the Eye of the Moon burning with fire before my eyes!"

Naruto shut his eyes at the light, dreading the moment he would have to open them once again, fearing what Madara had done.


	6. Chapter 6

**Belief**

 **the mental act, condition, or habit of placing trust or confidence in anotherstrong >**

 ****

 ** **信念****

Killerbee walked forwards, slowly, following the sillhouetted shape in the sky, his eyes peering through the light available. He hated the sun, it was too strong and too bright for his eyes, and even behind his glasses it was awful.

"Tsch, last time I do something nice."

The wind whispered around him, niggling him to pay attention and not drift into a meditative state. Killerbee glanced up once, noticing the raven circling round a fixed point... their target area.

With a grin, Bee moved with a purpose only known to trained hunters. He was itching for a decent fight, and if it be his life on the line, it was worth it. Akatsuki had thrown him a bone before and it hadn't been long before it had snapped in his hold. With any luck, this bone would be bigger, even more attractive, and better when Bee won.

He wanted at least one big fight before he made his music career lift off the ground. After all, singers usually had other things going for them, and Bee had hardly invested in singing classes. No, if he was a Shinobi... well, things would be different then. He'd be way cooler.

The raven dropped suddenly as Killerbee neared, and when he met at the place the raven had plummeted to, Itachi wa standing in the half-light, shadows throwing his face into pale proportions and shadows. They looked to each other and Bee nodded, his fingers stroking the handle of his blades gently.

"He's up ahead, ten degrees west and five north. I'll enter first and hope to engage the target."

Killerbee realised that Itachi must have been one of the top ANBU back in his Konoha days, and wouldn't put it past him being a Captain in the forces. His briefing was detailed enough to get a good idea, and gave a command that made sense.

"We need to be aware of other members of Akatsuki. I know there is one fully fledged member, Zetsu, and Sasuke's team. I don't know of their abilities but they consist of two men and one woman. Zetsu, on the other hand, tends to stray towards watching rather than fighting... but that's not to say he can't."

Bee nodded, eyes squinting into the area around them, trying to get a good look at everything. Itachi moved off, stalking through the trees as a tiger would approach potential prey. Muscles bunched and Bee stretched his arms, wiggled his fingers, and stepped after his coworker, glancing at the back of a man dressed in a dark cloak.

Uchiha Madara.

First impressions meant a lot, and this impression now wasn't intimidating at all. The scythe at the man's side looked promising, but the supposedly legendary warrior looked nothing like he had been painted.

For a moment, Killerbee was dissapointed, and then he saw the men move in time and thought twice about the situation. He would be a complete idiot if he said that Uchiha Sasuke wasn't a good ninja, because he was. A little green, but good enough to give him a run for his money, sans Hachibi of course. It was a well known fact that Uchiha Itachi was far more powerful than his brother, an S-classed ranking and top position in Akatsuki didn't stand for nothing, and Itachi had admitted that it was Madara who had trained him.

In reality, this meant that Madara could potentially be equal, maybe even above, in skill to Itachi. He certainly had had a lot of time to develop skills unknown to anyone, yet often the pupil surpassed the master.

Watching the two men was like watching two dancers in a perfect performance. Even Killerbee could see the pure skill in these men, the beauty in their techniques, and felt chided at his own style, the brash way it was. He would never be as graceful as these two, but then again, beauty came at such a price. Itachi seemed to be the only Uchiha to turn out alright in the end.

Killerbee was mildly disappointed when the Amaterasu burned a path to Madara, thinking that Itachi could have drawn the fight out a bit longer. His glasses slipped down his eyes as they widened incredulously at the scene now in front of him. Madara was laughing, manically one could say, and the black flames were crushed into non existence.

Itachi was unnerved by the proceedings, Bee could tell, and he stroked his sword handle again, eyes scanning the area around them as it was clear that now was a good time to strike.

Itachi moved again, a kunai slipping into his fingers, and for a moment Bee smiled, nodding to the secret skill Itachi showed with that movement. Resourceful was one word, a very good one at that, to describe Itachi.

Itachi's kunai landed perfectly, almost as if it was a cut-sequence on television. A perfect pentagon shaped around the target, and Killerbee watched in amused anticipation, hoping to see what made Uchiha Itachi so damn good. He was a genius, yes, and how could thid genius tackle an Uchiha possibly more skilled than him?

It was surprising to see Itachi's other element being water. Fire and water were a strange combination to have; after all, water extinguished water and it was odd to find someone who delt with two elements so fluently. Then again, his own styles focused mainly on Earth and Lightning, and Lightning did nullify Earth... but he used Earth sparingly nowadays.

And he was a Jinchuuriki.

And, he begrudged, Itachi had Sharingan.

He obviously had a plan, and Bee watched in fascination as Itachi dodged, retorted to attacks, and still prepared his next move. The pair fell still suddenly, facing each other, and Itachi's hands moved together. Genjutsu, then, Bee surmised. It happened in a moment; the Kyuubi's chakra pulsed strongly and he darted his head towards Naruto, cocking an eyebrow. All three watched as the frozen pair suddenly moved, a water dragon smashing into Madara.

Naruto flared his own chakra, a toad summoning appearing under Itachi and sinking into the mud. The toad's tongue escaped its mouth for a moment, lazily licking its lips as it glared towards Madara. Killerbee noticed the baby Uchiha shrinking away next to Naruto, and then the Hachibi's chakra pulsed electricity into the air.

He stiffened with the spark the chakra created and his eyes located the spot of the outsiders. He knew Itachi would have seen the movement and now that the Uchiha was aware he would be busy, they had to step up their game to prevent an escape, or even a win.

As anticipated, the plant man rose from the ground with a twisted half-smile visible. He announced the arrival of the baby Uchiha's former team. Sasuke offered up Naruto, yet Naruto's eyes didn't change... and that's when Bee knew. Naruto offered courage to people, and Sasuke had never stopped loving Naruto, even if the love was only slightly more than brotherly affection.

Oh to be young and free to get emotions mixed up. Bee almost sighed, eyes lazily flickering over the area to see if he could determine where Taki would enter. Bee was in front of Naruto and Sasuke now, and the breath whooshed out of him when the plant man collided with his chest, forcing him past Naruto and Sasuke to land back-first into a tree.

"'Ya bastard!"

It really was uncalled for. What kind of man... plant... man... whatever this thing was, attacked blindly and so unchivalrously? Common courtesy had died, it seemed, and even plants (he'd decided now) were failing to conform to basic etiquette.

"Kids..."

He moved to block a kich from the plant and moved his head back suddenly when the spikey... plant things oozed some sort of foul smelling liquid.

"Oi, plantey, what the heck is that?"

The half smile returned, this time complete with teeth. Which were surprisingly spikey.

"I'm simply a time filler, Hachibi-san,

Killerbee blocked another kick, and this time some of the oozing plant crap splattered on the back of his hand. He hissed as the apparently acidic substance peeled the skin on his hand back, ripping into flesh as lions do to their prey.

Brilliant. The plant man eats people.

Then suddenly, the cannibal plant man backed away, only to be replaced by the baby Uchiha's team. And speaking of the baby Uchiha, he had just been thrown into the water... Bee sighed. Things weren't particularly looking up, were they?

"Nice to see 'ya again. Not get the message last time 'ya were here?"

The trio shifted uncomfortably, looking at each other as if determining who the leader of this little confrontation should be.

Ah well, nothing like taking out the whelps.

And of course that was what he did, with ease and maybe not as much grace as an Uchiha, until their makeshift battlefield came to a standstill, a makeshift God the puppeteer in the centre.

"It's time for the Moon's Eye Plan."

But, perhaps, what was more disturbing was the dark shift in Naruto's chakra, and the words that escaped his throat with a low growl, "I shall see the Gods and the Eye of the Moon burning with fire before my eyes!"

Killerbee glanced to the people around him and knew without doubt that they could not do anything. Whatever this was, it was between Naruto and Madara... and truthfully, even the Jinchuuriki to the Hachibi didn't think he could find the strength to come between the two enormous powers preparing to target each other. It was as if two Gods (or two Devils) had come face to face, and he spared a glance to Itachi.

And a second glance.

It seemed Itachi might just be crazy enough to leap into the fray.

 **信念**

The morning broke into sunlight, which was quickly followed by grey clouds. There was no rain - a blessing perhaps - but the day started off tired, and would no doubt end tired. A chill entered the usually warm breeze and goosebumps rose on Sakura's arms as she paused, her pen poised over the last of her forms.

"Tsunade-shisou?"

Tsunade looked up from her own forms, lines contorting her face even with the Genjutsu still in place. Her own stack of paperwork far outweighed Sakura's, and the Sannin was barely halfway through.

"Can I help?"

Tsunade looked up for a brief second, a warm smile on her tired face, before she placed her pen down and sighed.

"No thank you, Sakura. I have a feeling in my old bones that something's happening out there and... the best way is to get through this papework. I'm the last one of my team left now, but I still have so much to teach."

Sakura remained silent, unsure of where this was headed. The former Godaime made to open her mouth yet the door burst open, silencing her words.

"Hokage-sama," Sakura smiled at the frown on Tsunade's face as the old habit reemerged, "Naruto-sama's missing."

Instead of leaping to attention, Tsunade took a slow sip of her tea and made a humming sound. The informant frowned, looking to Sakura. The pink haired Nin shrugged, as clueless as he.

"Uhm... Tsunade-sama...?"

"Nothing needs to be done. Thank you for informing us, I will send out a recovery team in case it is needed. I will send Shizune to take care of work for today but I'm of the mind that Naruto has simply gone for a journey today."

She paused, "Regardless of that, Sakura, gather Kakashi, Yamato and Sai. I believe Yamato will be able to track down Naruto, or Kakashi for that matter, and you'll be needed in case of the worst."

Sakura blinked, tilting her head slightly. It was a sudden order, she hadn't even known Naruto had gone and now she was supposed to track him down? What a typical Naruto thing to do.

"Fine. Will you be okay Shishou?"

Tsunade nodded. "Just bring him back. And tell him to expect an earful..." She trailed off as Sakura left, yet the younger was sure she could hear mutterings from inside, about how brats that finally achieved their goal should be grateful, rather than go gallivanting around with certain Uchihas.

Didn't take a genius to work that particular one out. Naruto was spontaneous, he was lively and slightly crazy. Anyone would be if they wore orange twenty-four-seven. It was just who he was, and Sakura really didn't want to interrupt any date he may have...

But what if he was in trouble. That too was a possibility, one that scared Sakura more than anything before. She could deal with leaving Sasuke, but she knew that losing Naruto would kill her, if not physically then mentally. He was her closest friend, her strongest pillar, and despite being away from each other for so long, they could depend on each other as Team Kakashi.

Sai was a smaller pillar, one that was just beginning to grow, as was Yamato. They could empathise with the pain but could not fully hold Sakura up. Kakashi would be able to stave off whatever befell her, but Sakura knew deep down that he needed Naruto just as much.

Maybe it was too much that they depended on their Hokage, but without Naruto, it seemed like the whole world would crumble.

It was why Sakura would gather up Team Kakashi, additions and all, and hunt for their wayward blond. All four of them would track him, hoping for the best but secretly preparing for the worst... after all as Tsunade had mumbled, Naruto was the Hokage now and had a duty to his village.

"Get up Kakashi-sensei!" She sang, knowing full well that the Jounin would be lazing around. It wasn't particularly late in the morning and there were no missions for Kakashi that she knew of so he would be in bed. Most likely. It would just take the right kind of prodding to get him up and going.

"Naruto's declaring Icha Icha Paradise illegal unless you get to his office in three minutes."

Sakura heard the tell tale signs of waking and dressing as her teacher hobbled around his home, stubling now and then when he - presumably - tried to put his trousers on. She smirked as the door opened and Kakashi stumbled out, Jounin jacket in his hands and hair still wayward and pointing in all directions.

Tutting, Sakura pulled Kakashi back, taking the Jounin jacket from his hands and getting him to put it on, before dragging him back inside and picking up his hairbrush.

"You know, you shouldn't be so gullible. There's no Icha Icha ban, but we do have a mission. You need to be less easy to predict, Kakashi-sensei. There, now you don't look like a scruffy weirdo."

Kakashi chuckled, "Where would I be without my dearest student?" Sakura rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay. What's this mission then?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder as she walked out the door, "Let's go get Yamato-taichou and Sai first. Then I'll give details."

Sai was easy to find. He was inside of the library, looking at ancient texts on the formation of ANBU and ROOT. He smiled as they came closer, standing up with a proper smile.

"I assume we've been called on?"

Sakura nodded, and Sai was added to their gathering. Now all they had to do was find Yamato and they'd have a complete set to brief and set up.

"Where would he be?" Sai asked, looking to Kakashi more than Sakura as the ex-ANBU would probably know more about their Taichou than they did.

"Where would who be?"

Sakura turned round, laughing, and caught warm, brown eyes.

"Yamato-Taichou! We've found you."

Yamato raised an amused brow and nodded to the team. The shopping bags in his hand rustled as he fell into step, curious as to why he was being sought.

"Early for shopping isn't it?"

Yamato nodded, "I had a sudden urge for something spicy. Found a little shop that's open at night for Shinobi. They run till late morning, and the food there's pretty good."

Kakashi nodded, making a mental note to ask for the name. Now he wanted something spicy.

"Anyway," Sakura began, cutting off the conversation of food before she too joined in the hunger parade, "Team Kakashi has a mission."

The group looked up in interest as Yamato started handing out crisps, the males munching happily as Sakura spoke.

"Naruto's gone and we have to track him down."

The munching stopped and the group fell silent at the briefing. Sai was the first to move, grabbing a handful of crisps as the elder men remained still. He grinned lightly, shrugging his shoulders a moment later.

"Naruto will be fine. He's the kind who vanishes for the fun of it, and if we have to drag the idiot back then so be it. I bet it's because he finally realised how inferior he is compared to me in penis size."

Sakura didn't have to move far to hit Sai and he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. Even though his words had been jokingly stated, all three could tell Sai was worried about Naruto.

"Okay then. Shall we meet at Konoha's entrance in half an hour? Pakkun can take us part of the way and when we get closer Yamato can help pinpoint the position."

The group nodded at Kakashi's statement, seriousness seeping through their skin. Even though Naruto was prone to joking and pranks, there was a huge possibility he could be hurt.

And even if Naruto wouldn't allow it, they would happily give their life for him. Naruto was their precious person, and whoever hurt him would feel the Fire Country's wrath.

 **信念**

The world around him was silent, and red eyes closed briefly. The silence lasted for one more moment, before the world roared and every sound for miles tore at his ears.

And through it all, there was only one voice he could hear clearly.

"Welcome to my world, Uzumaki Naruto," it hissed, tendrils of smoke extending from where the speaker should be and should not be.

"Are you quite comfortable? This is your doing, you know..."

Fire and pain and heat and fire, burning brightly, burning skin and the sound of screaming and pain and fire and death, death, death-

Water. Cold submerge and freezing surroundings. It wasn't water, it was ice, and he couldn't breath, and he was dying, dying, dying, and how many times can one person die-

Electricity coursed through every fibre, collapsing muscles he hadn't even known existed, interrupting the electopulses in his heart, and he was once again burning, drowning, elecrofying-

Being crushed by earth, earth that didn't want to give up its precious load, and instead of giving life and growing upwards, he was being dragged down, being buried alive as if dead, but he really, really wasn't-

Such a gale tearing at his face, his lips, his arms, his chest, his legs, and it hurt so much, his own element, the one he loved and cherished, betraying him to slice and storm, to cut and chap and he fell, falling to the ground to be crushed, burnt, drowned, electrocuted-

And it was over.

Naruto took a breath, eyes meeting his torturer with loathing.

"Now, now, Naruto-kun... look at our world..."

Naruto's eyes moved of their own accord and met with destruction. They were up higher than Naruto had ever been, high enough to see the land stretching from east to west, and also see the pit fires, the huge plumes of smoke rising. Naruto could see the lightning from up here, hear the screams as Jutsu were misused and fired off at innocent people.

"No..."

"It's beautiful, isn't it? And when the people need me, so their God shall descend."

Naruto shook his head, and found himself immobilised. He had to do something, anything, but how could he?

"The Rinnegan is perfect, was perfect, until my Sharingan became complete."

Naruto's eyes slid over to Madara (unmasked and so, terribly hideous, his eyes alight with the beauty of death and his lips spread into a sickening smile), as he waited for the explanation.

"If you take the six principles to the Rinnegan, they seem indestructible. But when you consider the Rinnegan is a dying bloodline... what then? Your blood denotes you as a Senju descendant, but mine is of Uchiha. As an Uchiha my power surpasses even that of the Rinnegan, with the Eye of the Moon."

The sun darkened in their blood filled sky, and lines etched themselves around Madara's eye. Blood spilled down his cheeks as the Jutsu took hold, and it took a few moments for them to cease bleeding and Madara to wipe the residue away.

A marker Naruto had only seen once in his life was depicted on Madara's eyes, and the Eye of the Moon shone red with wet blood. Naruto had only seen the image in a dusty book before, ages ago when he was younger, and it had been slammed shut in his face by someone (who he realised now) must have been an Uchiha. They had glared, eyes chilling Naruto even without the Sharingan, and had walked off.

He knew nothing of the Eye of the Moon and could only stare as Madara stroked the wet lines carved into his face.

"The Wedjat, a mythical eye from a culture forgotten to us... and yet there is so many meanings behind the principle. Their Gods do not exist, of course, but the meaning of this eye is so true..."

Naruto turned his head away, closing his eyes to blind the pain of the world below.

"It's ironic... this eye is often depicted with a falcon, and so Sasuke should have remained by my side." Naruto swallowed down the bile rising in his throat. "Smell, sight, thought, hearing, taste, touch, the six components that make up this eyes and the power of Gods. I can give the dead the ability to see again, far better than the Rinnegan. What could that eye do? Give back lives it had taken? I can chose who lives and who dies, regardless of if I killed them or not."

Naruto coughed, spit dribbling down his lip with the force of his hatred for the madman before him.

"Thank you, Uzumaki Naruto-kun. Without you, I never would have been able to achieve my dream."

Naruto turned, sickened.

Madara laughed, thrilled.

 **信念**

Bee watched as Naruto twitched, his body sporadically falling between fits and still-standing. Itachi tensed next to him, as he had the previous thirty two times Naruto had seized up, and Sasuke's hands gripped each other even tighter, turning knuckles white with the force.

"Hachibi?"

Bee shook his head to Itachi.

"Not a chance. Whatever's going on, it requires the Bijuu. Hachibi's silent, put up a block. I wouldn't even be able to acess the chakra even if I tried super hard."

Bee saw the frown on Itachi's brow and bit his lip, worried as hell for his little adopted brother. Madara and Naruto had been standing in the same positions for over ten minutes now, and looked as though they weren't coming out any time soon.

"All his chakra's still there. If he was under something that would kill him, he would be draining of chakra. Whatever it is, it hasn't got that far."

Sasuke was the one who started, turning to face Karin as she stood over them. The smile she offered was tentative, and though he could see the fangirl-ish attributes behind it, she was professional and trying to help. Even though he had, technically, betrayed them.

"He'll be okay, Sasuke-kun."

Bee noticed that Sasuke didn't nod. What if Naruto wasn't alright? How could he live with the fact he had admitted he would survive? Better not to get hopes up, even if it sounded cruel.

It was the life of a ninja.

"What if he's not? What is Madara's got him stuck in there with some sick Genjutsu and is killing him? How do you know he'll be okay? How?"

Sasuke's voice was a shout by the end of the last word, and Karin took a step back, eyes faltering in their contact. Bee glanced at the silent Itachi, who's eyes were fixed on Naruto, and could sense the hatred and self-loathing his temporaty team member was putting upon himself.

"He's Naruto. They dynamic guy who likes to make a scene. 'Ya think'll go down without a commotion? Not bloody likely."

While it hardly calmed their fears, Sasuke sat back down and Itachi's posture relaxed ever so slightly.

"He's a fighter, and a Kage. Madara's got non ambitions, no dreams, nada. Naruto'll be fine, 'ya'll see."

And while Bee desperately wanted to trust in his words, the suspicion of devastation remained in him, right from the moment he had realised the Hachibi wasn't responding.

It was the first time Bee had felt out of his depth, and it scared him. He had to believe Naruto could do it, because if he couldn't... they were likely to all die.

 **Ending**

 **a bringing or coming to an end; termination; close.strong >**

 ****

 ** **終了****

The first thing that Naruto could remember after the nightmare world was falling on his side, limbs twitching as the electricity he knew wasn't real coursed through him. His eyes rolled backwards, showing him darkness for one calm moment, before his body burned in pain. He felt the Kogitsune-maru at his side, but made no effort to reach his sword.

Madara took long strides towards him, faster than Bee or Itachi, and Naruto was hauled up to his feet by a clenched fist. He was panting now, sweat beads rolling down his temples, as he tried not to think of the disgusting world and how much it had hurt.

Madara's face was his mask once again and Naruto saw the lack of the Wadjat's eye. It was just Madara now, but what had the technique done?

The first factor was pain. Every nerve cell in Naruto's body seemed to tingle. His eyelids were half-shut, eyeballs rolling upwards now and then as he fought off unconsciousness.

The second was exhaustion. All Naruto's body wanted to do was shut down, recover, but he couldn't let himself. Naruto had been able to handle the pain in Madara's imaginary world and he couldn't subject anyone else - least of all Itachi - to that amount of torture.

The final factor was fear. Naruto would never claim to be fearless; he had been a coward on his first mission out of the village and even now there was still a spike of fear whenever a combat took place. The trick was to simple disguise the fear, camouflage it with confidence and strength. This time was different, though, and Naruto no longer had the energy to hide his fear.

Except he didn't care if Madara knew. It would satisfy the man, yes, but Naruto would be honest to himself and to the people watching. If that meant he had to be scared, then he would. The only people watching were Itachi, Sasuke, Bee and maybe Sasuke's team.

Naruto loved Itachi and Itachi loved him back. Itachi wouldn't judge him for being scared - he'd admitted as much before. Everyone became scared and it was foolish to think otherwise.

Sasuke was a brother to him and if Sasuke thought it was weak to be scared, fuck him. Sasuke's choices had led him to destruction and it had been Naruto who had offered a hand out from the dismal pit he had dug himself into.

As for Bee, Naruto wasn't concerned about his fear. Bee understood what it meant to be a Jinchuuriki and that they were entitled to at least one moment of true fear.

And Sasuke's team? If they even dared to judge him, he could always remind them who had followed like dogs and who had been unafraid to carve their own path. There were so many examples Naruto could use, so, so many.

It was easy to assume that the technique played upon Naruto's fears, but assumptions could be wrong.

But this time, Itachi was watching from the sidelines, eyes tracking Madara's progression on the offence. Sasuke was lagging back, watching uncertainly. His eyes would flicker from Naruto to Itachi every now and then, no doubt trying to work out the dynamics between the two. It was also as if he was seeking permission, constantly judging whether he should be there.

"It's not over yet."

Madara pushed Naruto back, swinging his scythe out of the ground as he spun round. Naruto found his footing easily, sliding back on the ground and he held a hand out to stop anyone else.

"Don't. I want you to take care of the rest of the Akatsuki," who only seemed to be Zetsu, but Naruto needed to be sure. He watched as Bee nodded and looked around, intent on finishing the fight with Zetsu.

It was Itachi who pulled Sasuke back. Naruto almost smiled as he saw the anger on his friend's face and it was almost as if he was watching a programme, something that was quite obviously unreal. Naruto couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew Sasuke was angry.

Madara moved forwards, intent on tiring Naruto down as much as he could. Blue eyes watched as Itachi calmly explained something, still holding Sasuke's arms behind his back. In reality, Naruto should be watching and focusing on Madara, but instead he was watching the two people he loved beyond reality.

He had to do it though, to make sure that both of them could live, he had to kill Madara.

Sage Chakra began to build up on the mark on Naruto's arm and he renewed his grip on the Kogitsune-Maru. He had first formed the idea of combining the two a while back, but Naruto had been unsure whether the Sage Chakra could be compatible with a Deity's sword.

With a burst of white light, Naruto channelled Sage Chakra through the Kogitsune-Maru, concentrating on the fox-shaped inlay on the pommel of the sword. A white fox appeared and naruto remembered a lifetime ago, back when Itachi had regained his Sharingan. He had spoken to Inari then and now he would attempt to channel what power of the Deity he could.

It was risky, but when had something been risk-free? Everyone took risks and getting rid of Madara took the uttermost priority now. He was a threat to everything Konoha and her allies represented and he wanted destruction.

Naruto had seen that much in his nightmare world. Except to Madara, that was what the world should look like.

The light sparked and faded back into the sword and Naruto took his chance to move forwards. The blade hummed as it sliced through the air, blocking off Madara's scythe's approach. They continued for what seemed like ages, parrying and blocking, swiping and cutting. Neither brought the other down until Madara changed his tactics and Naruto caught his eye.

It was just them, again. Madara and Naruto alone. Same surroundings, same weapons and same physical state, except there was no Itachi, no Sasuke, not birds, no Bee, nothing except the two individuals Madara wanted there.

"So," he began, crossing his arms as the scythe remained upright, despite the lack of support. Naruto knew better than to fall for the petty tricks of the Sharingan and instead focused on Madara.

Well, Madara and the tingle of Sage Chakra in his arm.

"You've managed to ruin most of my plans by taking Sasuke for your own."

Naruto's nose wrinkled. "He's not yours to take. He's not mine. Sasuke is his own man, something you clearly don't understand."

Madara made a show of shrugging. "Perhaps not, but you also managed to steal someone else from me. Someone I was convinced would have preferred death to life."

Naruto let the Kogitsune-Maru drift away, out of the Sharingan-space and away in its sheath in the world. He would play with Madara's mind games because they would enable him time enough to collect what he needed. Which would hopefully be enough.

"I'm not too bothered by the fact that you managed to do it, though I am impressed that you pulled it off. I've known Itachi for years, before you even knew he existed. He wouldn't have changed for anything."

Madara sighed, clasping his hands together as they moved from his chest.

"You're not a threat to me, though. You may have ruined all I planned, but you forget who I am."

Naruto evened out his stare, looking at Madara directly. "You're Uchiha Madara, the man who thinks he can control the Bijuu, the man who thinks he can control the world. You can't be that person, no one can." Naruto paused before his next words. "You're mad."

Madara nodded his head slightly, "That seems to sum it up nicely."

The illusion shattered and Naruto felt the Sage Chakra take its hold. He could sense everyone, even the Hachibi inside of Bee, and he relaxed slightly, knowing that all of them were safe. It was odd that he felt relief for the members of Sasuke's team, but it was there. He was glad the three of them were okay.

Madara was strong. It was a simple deduction passed from fighting him, observing him and understanding him. All Uchihas were strong - damned amazing genes - but even Itachi acknowledged that Madara was an oddity amongst Uchihas. He was remarkably robust, standing strong for years.

People acknowledged Madara for standing against the Shodai, Hashirama, but they always remembered that he lost. What people didn't know (and what Naruto had found out from Itachi) was Madara had helped in killing the Clan. It took great strength to take on the heads of the police force, especially when you were thought to be dead.

They exchanged blows again, dodging various techniques and countering them. Naruto could feel Bee winning against Zetsu, yet the others had no choice but to step in briefly. The white clones had spread about the area, blocking anyone from helping Naruto, yes, but also annoying the hell out of everyone else.

Well, it was a bit more serious than simply annoying, but Naruto didn't have the time to process what else it could potentially be. Madara took the offensive this time, putting his full power into everything.

It was odd how the world panned out. Naruto had always dreamt that he'd become a great Shinobi, become Hokage and participate in battles of legend, but it hadn't been until he actually experienced these things that he realised they were actually there.

He hadn't realised the true meaning of danger until he had been faced with it alone. Even on the missions, including the one with Zabuza and Haku, Kakashi had been there. Despite the final confrontation where they had been split apart from Kakashi, the Jounin had placed their lives above his, telling them to run.

None of them had, because what kind of student would they have been then?

But Naruto hadn't run because, somehow, he knew it would be alright. Kakashi was famous, that much was true, and an exceptional ninja. He was brave, full of talent and, best of all, cool to have as a teacher. Even when he had been trapped, Naruto felt that everything would be okay because he was still there.

Naruto hadn't known true fear until later, when Jiraiya had left him alone at the hotel and the Akatsuki had knocked on his door. He had taken one look at Itachi and Kisame and that was all it took to recognise they were dangerous. Naruto remembered the way he had stared, how he had flinched when Kisame made an offhand comment about ripping his arms off.

It had been so blunt and so comfortably said that scared Naruto. The Genin knew that the two could do what they want and he'd be powerless. Sure he knew about the Kyuubi, but what use could the fox do when he couldn't control anything to do with the chakra?

They were on a completely different level to Naruto, something he hadn't fully accepted before. Jiraiya had arrived in time, luckily, to see off Itachi and Kisame, but not before Sasuke had been destroyed in seconds.

Naruto had always known Sasuke was skilled and he had seen the top ninja of his generation reduced to broken bones in literal seconds.

It had scared Naruto, but it had thrilled him secretly at the same time.

Not the fact that Sasuke was hurt - he didn't want any of his friends hurt - but the fact that someone had so much power it took seconds to take down an enemy.

Naruto hadn't realised he could ever be Hokage until he was standing with the chrysanthemum in his office, blushing with the suggestion the flower presented.

They had all come a long way since then. Sakura had accepted both Itachi and rekindled their friendship, Tsunade had lived through the loss of Jiraiya, Konoha had been attacked, but everything was still living. Konoha still survived and with it, so did their Hokage.

Konoha ran in his veins, as stupid as that sounded. Naruto knew the village loved him and he loved the village in return. He loved watching the children laughing, the adults chatting and the elderly sitting together, thankful of the warm breeze blowing through the village.

Konoha was his life and Madara was not going to take that away from him. Even if he had to die.

There was nothing complicated about what he was going to do. The collection of Sage Chakra while he had been moving was the hardest part of everything, but he had managed that. Summoning his sword had been difficult, but he had done that.

This should be easy. A simple Rasengan, charged with pure wind energy inside. Upon contact, Naruto would channel further elemental chakra into the technique, causing te outer layer of the Rasengan to rupture and burst, loosening the hold on the energy inside.

It would be less destructive than Naruto's completed Rasengan, but more effective than a standard Rasengan. While it would not kill Madara, it would enable Naruto to knock him back and then deliver the final blow.

It occured to him then that maybe he should allow either Sasuke or Itachi the final blow. He risked a look over to them and found them glancing back, torn between Naruto and the last of Zetsu's clones.

There wouldn't be enough time. Itachi's shake of the head told Naruto all he needed to know and he prepared himself.

Madara had seen the opening, though, and moved closer, striking at Naruto with a kunai as he moved past.

He didn't get too far, though, and the slice on Naruto's arm as he blocked the weapon appeared as a small Rasengan slammed into Madara's stomach.

In the moment between the wind channelling into the Rasengan and Madara feeling the technique, Naruto became aware of a few things.

One: the Zetsu clones had vanished, presumably with the original. Naruto hadn't saved up anymore Sage Chakra so he couldn't check by sensing for the man's chakra. Assuming he was a man of course...

Two: Sasuke had started forwards, followed by Itachi's arm. Itachi had obviously tried to pull him back and his mouth formed the word 'Sasuke'.

Three: Sasuke didn't care.

Which was, perhaps a good thing.

He channelled the wind chakra finally, creating a monstrous hum and an amazing burst of wind. He heard the chink of a chain, however, and watched as Madara fell back, his head hitting the ground with a thump and a smile on his mouth.

It occured to Naruto then that it wasn't over, not fully, and he turned to see Sasuke's earnest face, wondering for a moment why. It couldn't take priority for the moment. The red scythe attached to the clinking chain took first priority and Naruto shifted his leg, trying to put enough weight into it so he could push himself out of the way.

There wasn't enough time.

Instead of feeling the ripping blade, Naruto watched as Sasuke curled over, reeling from hitting the ground face-first as he was pushed out of the way. The sound of the chain rang through Naruto's head again as it was pulled back, Madara's arm shifting in satisfaction.

A gurgle was heard as the metal pushed upwards, cutting Sasuke's skin. There was no doubt it was a life-threatening wound, but it was, again, about the amount of time there was before Sasuke bled out.

The Kogitsune-Maru reacted on Naruto's whim, a white fox bursting forwards and surging to Madara's chain. Using Naruto's chakra, it broke the chain, enabling the scythe to fall uselessly at the ground. The chain heated up, Inari's fox coursing up the metal and into Madara's palm where it fell, hovering and unsure as it watched the inner workings of Itachi's Susano'o form rise from nowhere.

Naruto stood over his friend, remembering all the times they had protected each other, the time against Zabuza predominant in Naruto's mind, and wondered what he had done that inspired such loyalty, such stupidity, from Sasuke.

Unlike against Zabuza, Sasuke was silent. There wasn't a single word that escaped, only a shuddery breath. Naruto's eyes were wide as he saw the stream of blood and knew he should do something, press against the wound or heal Sasuke.

None of it would help, though. Looking at the thin, medium-depth wound that ran from under Sasuke's rib, over the bone and up the neck, he knew that only an experienced medic could take on this amount of damage. It didn't look as if any major blood vessels had been severed, or any organs, but enough blood was spilling that Sasuke could die very soon.

A rush of wind caught Naruto's ears as he saw the monstrous form of Susano'o above him in all its glory. Itachi was standing in the centre of the whirlwind, hand outstretched as the sword of Totsuka pierced through Madara. There wasn't any time for noise, not even a chance of a reaction, and Itachi remained upright until the cork on the sword was stoppered, trapping Madara inside for eternity.

It seemed so easy and Naruto watched with a detached feeling as Itachi fell to one knee, a hand coming up to cover his left eye. Susano'o faded, as well as the light-fox, two eyes remaining for a brief moment before they blinked, leaving the aftermath of years behind.

Itachi was making his way over, bloodied, dirty and wounded, but his eyes were fixed on one point.

Sasuke.

The one person Naruto had always looked up to when he was younger, his rival, his best friend. Someone Naruto had pledged to help, had put aside for Itachi and someone who had just sacrificed themselves for Naruto.

"You're an idiot," Naruto muttered, his voice shaking with shock. He couldn't do this. Sasuke couldn't die.

"Naruto," Itachi was calling him from the ground. He was looking up at Naruto, serious and too calm.

Itachi had seen too many people die. He'd probably been the cause of most of their deaths and so he could detach himself, even when it was his brother. He was hurting, Naruto knew that now by a simple look, but he had to deal with the people who were alive first. Itachi knew how to prioritise, Naruto didn't.

"Naruto," Itachi said again. It suddenly struck Naruto as to what Itachi was doing and it wasn't because he had detatched himself. Naruto was this close to losing control, and by losing control, it meant that the Kyuubi's chakra was one step further from being contained.

Naruto could destroy it all if he wanted to.

Or he could use the Kyuubi.

"What do I do? What can I do?"

Naruto heard the voice in his head, expecting it. "Break the bond. Let go of Itachi and accept Sasuke."

Naruto fell down to his knees, taking Sasuke into his arms and pulling his best friend up onto his lap. Sasuke's head lolled to the side, shallow breaths indicating he didn't have that much longer.

Itachi was on the other side of Sasuke, fighting back tears, regardless of how he had said he was no longer responsible for Sasuke. They were still brothers, Itachi still loved him.

"Naruto!" The sound of Sakura's voice was too far away. Even though she would be there in moments, it was too late. Naruto had to decide now.

"Fine," Naruto said to himself, closing his eyes. "Do it. Break the bond."

 **Redemption**

 **an act of redeeming or the state of being redeemed/strong >**

 ****

 ** **償還****

"The bond between the Uchihas and the chakra entity that is the Kyuubi is very odd."

Naruto opened his eyes slowly, expecting nothing. He was right, there was only a soft yellow light bathing what appeared to be a deserted stretch of white nothingness. While Naruto could spend decades trying to figure out exactly where he was, he knew he wouldn't get an answer and simply accepted.

"It's existed since the creation of the Kyuubi, but even Uchiha Madara doesn't know that."

Naruto slid his eyes to the side, off to the left a little, but still couldn't see the person speaking. He would have to move himself, which would take effort. It was simpler and easier to simply lie still.

"When the elder son of the Rikudou Sennin stated he chose power as his way forward, he bred hatred. He fought with the younger brother and eventually took shape as the Uchiha clan."

It almost sounded as if the person was reading from a book, except Naruto knew that no such book existed. Someone would have found it before and used the knowledge either against the Akatsuki or against Naruto.

"With hatred came malice. With malice came the Kyuubi no Kitsune."

It had taken some effort, but Naruto finally managed to turn his head. He blinked slowly when he saw someone at a desk and the room half-fell into place. The yellow light vanished slowly, fading into natural sunlight tones as Naruto found himself kneeling in place at a table.

"The Kyuubi was drawn to the power of the Uchiha much like Uchiha were drawn to it. Madara simply enslaved the Kyuubi, bending its will to his and forcing potency into its chakra. That's completely different to the hatred attracting dreadful chakra."

There was someone taking shape opposite him now and Naruto waited, eyes scanning the body for any clue of who would be sitting there. There could be thousands of people, many who he wanted to see and many who he really didn't want there.

"But Madara's gone now."

There was a smile Naruto would recognise in a heartbeat. He found himself smiling in response before the rest of the man's features had fully formed, the white light that seemed to be creating him slowly vanishing into flesh.

"And you've chosen to break the bond to save Sasuke, because Madara forced the Kyuubi's chakra to react to an Uchiha. It's what led to all of this, back when you refused to let a man die."

Naruto's mouth opened, ready to call out.

"You're an idiot."

The man was real, sitting there with his teeth on show as he smiled, arms open.

"Ero-Sennin," Naruto whispered before moving round the table and holding onto his former Sensei tightly.

"It's okay Naruto. Everything will be fine." Jiraiya knew how to comfort people, despite the times he claimed he was useless. It had been so long since Naruto had seen him, since Konoha had heard of his death, that he felt he should cry.

"You can't cry here," Jiraiya said, releasing Naruto and pushing him away gently. "All I'm here to do is tell you taht you'll be okay, that Sasuke will be okay."

Naruto looked at the table before realising the scenery had changed, back to one of his favourite memories. It was a place Jiraiya had taken him to on their travels, a field of wildflowers. They had spend hours running through the long flowers, claiming it was stamina-building, but knowing it was simply for fun.

"I've missed you," Naruto stated.

Jiraiya was starting to fade and he smiled. "I think the fox wants a word with you now. My job's done."

Naruto felt the wildflowers against the bare skin on his arms and closed his eyes at the comforting, scratchy feeling.

"People will miss you too, Naruto, don't stay too long." Jiraiya was almost completely gone now and Naruto wished for a thousand more moments with him, knowing it was useless. Jiraiya had died a long time ago, whatever this was, it was an illusion.

That didn't make it any easier, however, when Jiraiya faded completely, leaving behind the whispered words of, "I'm so proud of you Naruto."

As the Sannin had said, Naruto couldn't cry. Instead he felt as though he was pulled down and sinking, through consciousness, through himself, through water - whatever it was, he found himself in a familiar place.

"Naruto," the Kyuubi no Kitsune greeted, almost warmly. "I don't have much time. I'm interrupting your normal body functions as we speak, you should be in a coma or something by now."

Naruto knew he should feel unnerved at this statement, but apparently feelings couldn't travel across either.

"The bond with Sasuke is secure. It took a lot of power to break the one with Itachi, a lot of power I nearly couldn't afford. If it had been anyone else, Naruto, then you would have been looking at a dead Uchiha." The Kyuubi paused, "Three dead Uchihas by my understanding."

Naruto knew his heart should have sunk then. It didn't.

"But it's you."

Naruto could feel his chest growing heavier, almost as if something was pressing against it. His breathing slowed and Naruto raised an arm to his throat, cupping at the junction where neck met chest.

"I told you I wouldn't have a lot of time. You need to heal."

Naruto fell to his knees, head tucked down a little as his chest heaved in effort to get more oxygen in.

"It's the last bond I can form. You forced us to break one bond and make another to give chakra to heal Sasuke. I'm surprised you're still alive, but you are." The fox sighed a deep, rumbling sigh. "You saved him. After all these years, you finally did it."

Naruto was on all fours now and he spared one look for the ancient Kyuubi.

"I'm slightly proud." Naruto smiled at the admission. "But not enough to let you die. Go show them how to survive... Uchihas would be lost without you."

Naruto remembered curling down on the floor, the water that surrounded the Kyuubi's cage only just seeping through his clothes and to his skin. It was calming, relaxing, and Naruto wondered what waited for him back in real life.

 ****

When Naruto had stated he was breaking the bond, Itachi's heart had sunk. Sasuke was lying on the ground, gasping, when Naruto suddenly fell to the ground, next to his friend.

Itachi watched as the two people he loved more than anything struggled against an invisible barrier, no doubt the working of the Kyuubi. He understood that Naruto had to break the bond with him, but when the first wave of pain hit, Itachi couldn't help but sink down a little.

Bee had been the first to come to Itachi's aid, Sakura following shortly as she arrived on the scene. Bee held Itachi as the pain spiralled, ripping through what seemed every chakra source in his body. It stung in his eyes the hardest, pinpricks of pain multiplying until, suddenly, they vanished.

Except Itachi wished them back. Sasuke's body went rigid, his face scrunching up in pain. Itachi wished, as all brothers do, that he could take the pain away from Sasuke. Despite their differences, the hell he had put Naruto through and all the stupid things he had done in his life, it didn't change the fact that Itachi had been willing to die for his brother. He loved him, almost as much as he loved Naruto, and it hurt him to see Sasuke in pain like he was in.

There was no one more selfless than Naruto. Naruto was willing to go to any lengths to save the people he loved (namely Sasuke) and the people he should have hated (namely Itachi). He chose to see the best in people, something Itachi knew very few people would even consider anymore.

"What's he doing?"

The voice was quiet, nervous even, and Itachi stopped looking at Sasuke for a split second to take in red hair and a frightened look on the woman's face.

"Which one?"

That was Bee, obviously trying to take the attention off of Itachi for a moment. As far as the world was considered, Itachi should be dead. The battle had delayed any questions or ogling, but now things would start to trickle through, information begin to register.

"Sasuke-kun," she whispered. Then, "And Naruto."

While Naruto's name sounded like a tag-on (and as much as Itachi wanted to turn round and explain that Naruto would never ever be a tag-on because he was Naruto), Itachi knew she was scared for the blond. Whatever he was doing, because only Itachi was sure he knew about the bond's existence, must seem odd to the others.

It was odd, very, very odd, but it would most likely save Sasuke's life.

"Step back," came the commanding voice of the only medic present, Sakura. She checked Naruto's pulse first and ran an eye over her friend, obviously checking for any harm. Apparently seeing nothing, Sakura turned her attention to Sasuke, attempting to keep herself neutral.

Itachi could see the internal struggle and couldn't blame her. The man she used to love, the one who had caused so much pain, was writhing on the ground. Her hands shook slightly as she collected the green chakra neccessary for medical ninjutsu before she cut it off, frowning.

"What?" Itachi hated that his voice sounded so weak, but he wanted Sasuke to live. Anything that could hurt Sasuke also had the potential to hurt Naruto, such was the nature of a forged bond.

"He's healing."

And Itachi relaxed. For the moment.

 **償還**

Sasuke awoke to the wary gaze of many people. He sat up slowly, looking round at the odd assortment before everything caught up.

It was odd to see Karin there, standing a little behind Sakura. The women were looking closely at him, perhaps inspecting for potential wounds.

A little to the side was the massive form of the Hachibi's Jinchuuriki, the man who had outsmarted Sasuke when he believed he was at his height in power. He was the man who had taken down Taka with a beat, simply playing with them as if they were mere children.

Itachi was the next person Sasuke laid eyes on and he saw relief flicker in his brother's eyes. Before he found out the truth, Sasuke would never have been able to accept that look in Itachi's eyes, never understand that Itachi was capable of feeling emotions other than hatred and a passion to kill. The man Sasuke knew now, the man he saw with his own eyes here, was one who loved, one who wanted people to live, was a brother again.

Next to Itachi, though, was what made Sasuke jolt into his memories, remembering what had happened prior to slipping into unconsciousness.

Naruto was pale, too pale for Naruto, and his lips parted as if he had been whimpering in pain. Sasuke's body tingled, the way he knew it would if he had just been under torture, and guessed that the source had been through something Naruto did.

Naruto the idiot.

Naruto the dobe.

Naruto the bravest person he'd ever known.

No one else, bar Itachi, would even consider sacrificing something for Sasuke. The others would have been content to simply cast a glare, shake a head and walk away, happy to let Sasuke die.

That was why Sasuke had stepped between the metal blade of Madara's scythe and Naruto. Naruto could heal because of the Kyuubi, but the angle at which the weapon was aimed would have pierced through his skull, killing him instantly.

Naruto deserved better. Naruto was happy in Konoha. He was the Hokage, finally, and it was incomprehensible to Sasuke that anyone could let Naruto die.

So that was why he did it.

But why he was still alive, and apparently healed, was once again thanks to the blond. Whatever he had done, the idiot always had to surpass him, didn't he?

Sasuke would have felt angry before. He would have raged at how Naruto couldn't just let things go, how he always had to trump things.

Instead he was calm. He felt something occasionally pull within him, almost as if he could feel someone else's emotions, but they didn't bother him. Sasuke forced himself to relax, sending the relaxation through the pull he felt, and received reassurance.

Everything would be okay.

"Naruto?"

Sakura was back over Naruto now, her hands at his wrist and her eyes scanning him again. When she moved his body, Sasuke saw him simply lying down limp.

Itachi moved to crouch next to Naruto, taking the free hand in his own and looking up to Sakura for what she was about to say.

Sasuke didn't know if he could handle the news. What if Naruto was going to die because of him?

 ****

"He's lost a lot of blood. Normally a ninja can counter the loss of blood by having enough chakra to sustain themselves, but Naruto's given that to Sasuke. Breaking the connection he had with you and forming the bond with Sasuke used up part of the Kyuubi's chakra, but you know Naruto. Why should he stop there?"

Itachi blinked, his eyes flickering across from Naruto to Sasuke. He could never hold Sasuke responsible, but could tell from Sasuke's eyes that he did feel the responsibility.

"So what? What does it mean?"

Sakura swallowed. "What it means is Naruto doesn't have enough chakra to sustain a balance. He doesn't have enough blood. Without enough blood, his body will try to use chakra to substitute, but he's running out quickly." Sakura took a deep breath. "I can't donate because the procedure's complex and unless you know how to do it, you'll just end up killing the recipient faster."

Itachi's head snapped up, eyes wide. Sakura gritted her teeth as she saw the great Uchiha Itachi crying, tears simply rolling down his cheek. She had seen many people cry when delivered bad news, but there was something heart wrenching at seeing someone who was literally featured in legends crying.

"Then just take mine. A transfusion should be simple then."

If only it was. "I can't."

Itachi looked up, hair falling into his eyes. "What do you mean you can't take my blood? He needs blood doesn't he? Just take it!" He shoved his arm out to Sakura and she shook her head, eyebrows knotting as she bit back her own tears.

"Your blood type isn't compatible. I looked through your medical file... you're AB and Naruto is B. You can take his blood and you'll be fine, but if he takes your blood, his body will reject it, causing him more pain and harm than anything. Itachi-san, we need to think of this logically, and prepare for the worst. Naruto is the Hokage and-"

"I don't care if he's the Hokage! How come he gets to die when I get to live?"

Sakura was silent for a moment before she sighed heavily. "It's not as simple as that." Her voice dipped, lowering. She broke eye contact with Itachi and brought a hand up to run through her hair. It left a sweaty streak and Itachi knew Naruto would have laughed at Sakura's new hairstyle if he was awake.

"Sakura?" Itachi's voice was harsh and Sakura's face screwed up in pain. "Just take it."

Saske watched as his brother gritted his jaw. He couldn't do anything but stare at the emotions Itachi was showing, all of them emotions that he'd never seen before. Itachi was physically alive and he couldn't help but marvel at the sheer passion Itachi held for Naruto.

"Even if you were the right blood group..." Sakura trailed off, rubbing her forehead and looking everywhere but Itachi. She knew Itachi wouldn't accept one reason so she had to give him another. "You've had sex, haven't you?" There was an awkward pause, dotted with the shuffle of someone walking up to them. "Y-you and Naruto I mean?"

Sasuke watched, wide-eyed, as Itachi nodded, his face pale and lips drawn in.

"Then you wouldn't be able to," Sakura stated plainly, grasping Naruto's limp hand and bringing it up to her chest, simply holding part of her friend.

"Move, Sasuke."

Sasuke scuttled back like a child, watching as Suigetsu crouched down beside him. He had almost forgotten completely about his team, even Karin though she had been standing closer than the other two. Why hadn't they left the first chance they could? Sasuke held no ties to them, didn't force them to stay. They had been hiding around all this time, loyal to someone who deserved none of their loyalty.

"I'm the same blood group. Take mine."

Itachi looked to the offered arm and into Suigetsu's eyes. Suigetsu smiled sadly, dipping his head as Itachi moved over, offering his place by Naruto's side. They couldn't waste any time anymore.

Sakura wasted no time, taking Suigetsu's arm and pulling it towards her. Her hands reached into the emergecy medical pack she always carried and pulled out a small tube. Opening the casing, Sakura removed a small needle, pricking Suigetsu's finger with the point and closing the capsule again.

"I need to check that your blood is safe."

After a painstakingly long moment, even though it could have passed in two blinks of an eye, Sakura looked at the needle again, or rather the side of the capsule. She seemed satisfied by whatever it told her and pulled a few more things from her kit.

"I don't have the right equipment, but I'll make do."

Itachi nodded silently as he moved to Naruto's head, stroking the blond hair away from his eyes. What he wanted to do was whisper in Naruto's ear, tell him everything would be alright, but he couldn't.

"Here," Sakura said, passing something to Suigetsu then taking his arm.

Itachi chose to focus instead on Naruto, eyes flickering over the face of the man he loved. Naruto's eyes were shut, almost as if he was sleeping. The lines in his cheeks, however, were not the signs of sleep Itachi had grown used to, spending so much time simply watching his partner sleep back home.

It was an odd word that Itachi had never expected to be able to use openly in relation to Konoha. He had always assumed he'd die with Konoha as his secret, a small hope in his mind that he could cling to.

As usual, Naruto had stormed in and changed everything. He had refused to accept that Itachi simply wanted to die after all this time. Itachi had been useless; three-quarters-blind, tired, full of self loathing... and then Naruto spilt everything over the floor.

He had taken Itachi with him, seen what no one else chose to see. The Mangekyou hadn't failed when it showed Naruto the truth of the Uchiha massacre. Itachi had been thinking about Sasuke, about what he was about to do, and needed to ready himself. People avoided his eyes and so Itachi often failed to realise that he could transmit emotions through the Sharingan, provided there was a bond.

It was something he had read about a long time ago. Because of the Kyuubi, Naruto had been able to see exactly what Itachi wanted to keep hidden.

And he had taken the bull by the horns, metaphorically speaking, and wrestled until Itachi had accepted. Instead of fighting, Itachi had helped Naruto. He'd helped Naruto into office, helped him through the loss of his teacher, helped him through so many things that the past months seemed to have spanned years.

But still, it came down to this. Naruto was lying on the ground and Itachi could very well see that he was struggling for life. He was helpless, utterly helpless. Naruto needed help, much like Itachi had needed help before, and here he was. Sitting as Sakura passed tubes around and shoved needles into Suigetsu and Naruto.

There had to be something. Itachi refused to let Naruto simply fade away, which he was close to doing.

It may cause him damage, but Itachi had always believed in taking risks for the people he loved.

Silently and knowing no one would take notice, Itachi allowed the power surge of the Sharingan overwhelm him completely, delving deeper than he ever had before. He passed through the layers that would enable him to activate Amaterasu, then Tsukuyomi and finally Susano'o. He felt the pressure where the forbidden arts of the Sharingan were kept, the ones he would never attempt to touch because of the disgust they caused. Izanagi and Izanami, locked away.

Still Itachi pressed on, feeling the pressure in his head build up. He wouldn't be able to hold this position for much longer, but he was so very close.

Just before the pressure became too much, Itachi opened his eyes in triumph.

Instead of returning to the scene he had left, Itachi had clutched at the broken ends of the bond. He knew that the connection with the Kyuubi would always be there, even if he hadn't bonded before, the Kyuubi was often bitter about his clan so there had to be a strong connection. It simply took the Sharingan at its highest intensity to clutch at the bond and draw it closer, propelling along the edge of the connection.

There he was. Curled upon himself, saturated with water, yet there. The Kyuubi stood above him, towering behind the bars that kept the malice of the fox away, but Itachi knew he had been looking over Naruto.

"He's suffered during this. More than you'd imagine. Take him home, Itachi. You're the only Uchiha I'll ever trust."

Coming from the Kyuubi, Itachi knew this was the highest praise he could ever receive. He bowed to the fox and walked over to Naruto, smiling as he bent down to take his lover in his arms.

"Come on Naruto, let's get you home."

Naruto stirred, shifting as Itachi pulled him into his arms, raising the blond from the water.

"I can't do it alone," Itachi whispered after placing a kiss to Naruto's temple. "You have to wake up."

 **償還**

Sakura sighed as she monitored the transfusion, timing the progress and keeping an eye on both of her patients. Suigetsu was paling, even though he denied it, and Sakura knew she would have to pull the plug, so to speak, or Suigetsu would suffer.

The only problem was that Naruto didn't seem to be getting better at all. He had regained a fraction of his colour, but other than that showed no signs of regaining any of his strength.

Sakura hoped none of it had been in vain.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Itachi stir. He had been oddly still and quiet for over ten minutes now and Sakura wondered if he was simply praying for Naruto's recovery or if it was something deeper.

As Itachi locked eyes with hers, she saw him wince on the left-hand side a little, drawing his eyelid back over the eye and reaching his hand up to rub. Whatever he had done had put stress on his eyes, something she was sure Itachi wouldn't have done unless needed.

Then again, the most she knew about any Uchiha was from Sasuke. Itachi was a completely new kind of Uchiha to her, kind and passionate about the things he loved. Maybe he would do something even if it could be avoided.

Sakura had seen how much Itachi loved Naruto, after all. You couldn't replace anything to do with that kind of love.

"You won't be alone, Naruto." While the words were whispered, everyone could hear the words Itachi spoke. "Wake up."

Sakura held her breath, half expecting Naruto to rise up suddenly, laughing at the worry on their faces.

He didn't, though, and Suigetsu shuffled where he was sitting, swaying too much for Sakura's liking. Whether she liked it or not, Suigetsu couldn't give anymore blood and she had to stop the transfusion.

"Give me your arm," she said calmly, remembering the training sessions she had been to where hospital workers were coached on different ways of delivering bad news. They had begun by learning when it was over, something that was hard even to this day. Sometime you had to accept things.

Except it was harder when it was Naruto and even Itachi was silent, seeing the anguish on Sakura's face.

"I'll get you a plaster," Sakura said, reaching into her pack on autopilot and pulling out something to cover the small hole in Suigetsu's arm. He thanked her quietly, moving back to Karin and Juugo, aware that he wasn't part of their group at the moment.

Sakura steeled herself, putting Itachi off until the last minute. She could see Sasuke's eyes darting around, trying to form connections and make sense of what was likely to happen.

Fuck. She didn't want to be the one who had to deliver the news their Hokage was dead. She couldn't face it now, let alone returning home and facing the memories there.

"It's okay Sakura."

Sakura looked over to Itachi's smiling face, only just realising she was crying. He blinked slowly and she thought of how unfair it was that he could smile. Didn't he hurt too?

"He's sleeping."

With hair falling into her eyes, Sakura looked down immediately. She pushed pink strands away as she searched her friend's face for any sign of him pulling out of what had been his danger zone.

"Itachi..." she began, unsure how to phrase how wrong he was.

"Look," Itachi said lightly, the breath escaping his lungs with a slight hitch, as though he was laughing at the situation.

Sakura looked, really looked, and her bottom lip quivered. She had seen that look before, with his eyes shut and nose wrinkled ever so slightly, Naruto was asleep. Itachi was right.

"I'll carry him back to Konoha."

Sakura had never heard a better idea than that before.

 **償還**

They arrived back in Konoha - Bee, Taka and Sasuke included - to an empty gate. It took a full five minutes before people started looking out at the odd collection of people walking to the Hokage tower, and even then most people ignored the situation.

When the word spread that it was Naruto-sama who was being carried into the village by Uchiha Itachi (who was supposedly a dead man) and flanked by the eight-tails' Jinchuuriki, the three subbordinates of Uchiha Sasuke and then Uchiha Sasuke himself... well the crowd gathers nicely by the time they reached the foot of the tower.

"Get him in," Tsunade said as she flung open the door, inviting the group inside and out of the way.

Sakura wasted no time in leading the group to the small patient room the Hokage kept near the office and Itachi finally let Naruto down to lay on the bed.

Once they were satisfied Naruto was comfortable, Tsunade rounded on the remainer of the group, frowning at the looks she was receiving.

"Who wants to explain what the hell just happened?"

Itachi was content to sit by Naruto's side as the others tried to make sense of it all. Somehow he knew they would need Naruto's expertise on this one and sat it out.

Only Tsunade noticed when Itachi fell asleep and she hid her smile. There was no doubt in her mind that Uchiha Itachi could love.

 **償還**

A month had passed since Naruto had broken the bond with Itachi and Madara had finally been disposed of. It had taken Naruto three days to wake up, but in those three days Itachi hadn't moved from his side.

There were matters to take into consideration then, such as what to do with Sasuke and Bee refusing to go back until he knew Naruto was safe. No one really paid much attention to them, focusing instead on the Rokudaime Hokage. The villagers asked constantly if Naruto was alright, if anyone knew any news and passed on gifts and wishes of recovery to their Hokage.

Every morning when Itachi woke, he was surpised by the sheer amount of cards, flowers and chocolates (amongst other things) that Naruto had received as get-well gifts. It was amazing the amount of love the people held for one man, but Itachi understood completely.

His own bunch of flowers sat proudly by Naruto's bedside. The crysanthemums were as perky as the day Itachi had bought them and he paused in looking at the other gifts every now and again to look back at his flowers, remembering exactly what they were to Naruto and himself.

"Itachi?"

It was the afternoon of the third day and Itachi was by Naruto's bed in an instant, clutching his hand and scanning Naruto's face for signs of him waking.

He got his confirmation a moment later.

"Hey," Naruto said softly, eyes opening slowly and crinkling in a smile.

It had taken Itachi a selfish ten minutes before he could bring himself to tell anyone else Naruto was awake and even then he kept his hand firmly glued to Naruto's. The smile on Naruto's face showed Itachi that Naruto couldn't let go of him either, so they were really even.

When Naruto was discharged and had survived his first round of congratulations from the villagers, he returned home with Itachi.

"Bee's going home tomorrow. He said he would stop by in the morning for brunch or something and then he'd be back off to Kumo."

Naruto nodded, resting his head on Itachi's shoulder as they huddled together on the sofa.

"Tsunade-sama's set up appointments for you in a few weeks to talk to Karin, Juugo and Suigetsu." Naruto hummed, remembering that Suigetsu was the one who had essentially saved his life. He needed to thank him personally for that. "I think they might want to stay here."

Naruto turned in his seat, kissing Itachi on the lips as he did.

"Good. They're nice people."

Itachi pressed his forehead against Naruto's, seeking contact. "The council want a decision about Sasuke too," he said gently, hating that he had to bring this to attention so soon after they got home.

"Sasuke will be fine. I'll make sure he gets a light punishment, but he saved me. I can't thank him enough."

Itachi wrapped his arms around Naruto, buring his nose into Naruto's shoulder. He felt Naruto tilt his head, kissing his neck and smiled.

"Love you," Itachi muttered, repeating the words he had only been able to say to himself the last few days. Naruto pulled away for a brief moment, leaning in for a proper kiss.

"Love you too," he replied, smiling as he closed the gap.

Itachi knew then that no matter what, no matter who stood against them or who wanted what, that they would be more than okay.

 ****

 **Reform**

 ****

 **to change to a better state, form, etc.; improve by alteration, substitution, abolition, etc.**

 ****

 **改革**

Naruto surveyed the council with a grave look. It was still his first week back in office, but being hospitalised had changed nothing. And while the war was over (before it had truly begun, small pleasures), there was still much to go through.

"So we've all presented our case and we only need your input now, Hokage-sama," a member said, nodding towards Naruto.

Leaning back in his chair, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, thinking. The room fell silent, all eyes turned to their Hokage, before Naruto spoke.

"As you are all aware, I consider Uchiha Sasuke a friend of mine. I never gave up on him, not fully, and I was the one to save him from the darkness Madara pulled him into." No one dared move at the words, knowing exactly what Naruto had put himself through in order to bring Konoha back to peace and destroy Madara.

"Of course he cannot go unpunished, but I don't think the right time for that is now." Naruto's words met with a few murmurs, the older members gathered sharing meaningful looks.

"What I mean by that," Naruto continued, "Is that Sasuke is still in an unstable place. Whatever punishment we order on him, doing so now will only damage him further."

Expecting the protest before it came, Naruto turned to the speaker.

"But surely that's letting him go free? Even if you say you'll punish him later, you're letting him walk free of responsibility."

Naruto inclined his head respectfully.

"While that may seem like it to an onlooker, you forget that I'm now bonded to Sasuke. If he held any ill intent to anyone, I'd be able to feel it. If you allow me to let Sasuke find himself, I can ensure that he doesn't harm anyone unless it's for Konoha." The words were bitter, suggesting that he'd use a friend as a weapon, but it was the only way the council could see Sasuke at the moment. To suggest that he was a full human would suggest he might be capable of overcoming Naruto and that would put a hole in Naruto's plans.

"I've stopped him before and I can stop him a thousand times over if I have to." Naruto took a breath, looking to each of the members gathered around the table. "But I know that if we let him go, he'll come back a new man, accepting of his debts to Konoha and willing to serve for peace."

The council took a few moments to talk and Naruto was content to sit back, raising an eyebrow over the table to the only other person who remained silent. As a pacifist, Itachi had stated his preferred intent to remain inside of Konoha as part of Naruto's personal guard. Most of the ANBU who knew of Itachi's record had been astounded at that, wanting the man for their captain, but Itachi had refused, stating that he would fight when he needed to, but protecting his Hokage was a task far greater that he needed to do.

No one had to know the real reason Itachi preferred to be on guard duty was that Naruto had finally found another cure for paperwork. While Tsunade and Hiruzen had stuck to alcohol to get through their day, Naruto's office shut down for around an hour each day under the premise of lunch. If, of course, lunch meant fucking the brains out of each other on the Hokage's desk, then yes, they had a healthy lunch each day.

The council nodded collectively and Naruto turned away from Itachi, promises burning in his eyes. One of the civilian representatives stood, nodding to the rest of the council respectively.

"We trust your judgement, Hokage-sama. Our only request is that you speak thoroughly to Uchiha Sasuke before he leaves and take any preventative measure you may need." The man swallowed, "Including chakra restraints."

Naruto nodded. He'd never resort to restraining Sasuke like that, but if the council needed reassurance then he would gladly give it to them. It wasn't as though Sasuke wouldn't be punished, but he would be given a grace period, time to cool off and realise where his priorities stood without anyone looming over him.

They wrapped up easily after that, Naruto formerly introducing Itachi to the council as his chief advisor and protector. It wasn't a surprise and many of the people around the room laughed a little at the introduction, stating that Itachi was one person who didn't need an introduction. Naruto smiled at that; these people accepted him wholly and without reservation, and that was what Naruto had wanted for so long.

When they were alone in the council room, Itachi came to stand next to Naruto, smiling at him.

"I'm proud of you," he muttered, leaning down to kiss the side of Naruto's cheek. "We all are. Now come on, you need to talk to Sasuke about this and I'll get dinner started."

Naruto smiled in return, knowing that nothing was ever going to be easy from here on, but he'd be happy with the little moments. He had Konoha and he had Itachi.

 ****

 ** **改革****

Naruto fell back on the mattress as Itachi pushed against him, drawing a line of fire against his neck with his tongue. Naruto's hand was buried in his hair, pulling, but not painfully. His chest heaved as he took a deep breath in, pulling Itachi up and into a heated kiss, tongue slipping into Itachi's mouth. He flicked the tip slightly, catching the roof of Itachi's mouth with a smirk, rolling his hips up at the same time and drawing a moan from the Uchiha.

"Why," Itachi said, pulling back from Naruto and sliding his tongue over the blonde's jaw. "The hell did you," he continued, lapping against defined bone, leaving a wet trail before he kissed back at it lazily. "Invite Sasuke for dinner?"

He sat back, tilting his chin to see Naruto's answer. Naruto's hands slid around his shoulders and up to his neck, pulling him again furiously. As always, Naruto's methods were as meticulous as his shinobi skills, ruthless and hard hitting.

Not that Itachi was complaining, especially as Naruto pushed up again, grinding against him fervently.

"Because," Naruto said, slightly breathless as Itachi sucked at the skin of his neck, a hint of salt and the taste of Naruto overwhelming him. "It was the polite thing to do." Naruto's hands tugged at the hairband Itachi wore, throwing it across the room.

"I'll never find that now," Itachi said, pulling back completely and frowning at Naruto. For a moment there was a smile on the blonde's lips before he realised the severity with which Itachi spoke.

"Oh come on, you're not serious?" Itachi was unwavering, even going so far to remove his hands from where they'd come to rest under Naruto's top. "Okay, okay, I'll buy you a whole new pack and put it on my budget, how about that?"

Itachi wasn't allowed to reply before Naruto launched himself upwards, reversing their former positions so that he lay against Itachi, between his thighs and kissing his collar bone, seeking more, practically tearing at Itachi's clothes. They parted for a moment, Naruto pushing up Itachi's shirt hurriedly, ducking below the material as Itachi shifted it over his shoulders, landing back on the bed with a thump as Naruto grazed teeth over his nipple.

Naruto's hands were like burning fire against his skin, stroking over ribs and muscle, taking in all of Itachi. His lips circled his sternum, kissing the skin gently before moving across, catching a nipple between his teeth and rolling it slightly, the tip of his tongue smoothing over the nub, a mix of soothing and biting.

"Watch," Naruto whispered against his skin, breath warm, pulsing through Itachi's body.

Dark eyes tracked Naruto's progress as he moved over to their bedside cabinet, removing a small bottle and squeezing a small amount of the contents out onto his palm, smoothing his hand over Itachi's cock.

Itachi jerked impulsively, sucking in a breath as Naruto's thumb rubbed miniscule circles over him, teasingly before he removed his hand, squeezing more lube onto his palm.

Itachi watched as Naruto stretched himself, head turned to the side and a flush on his cheeks. His eyes were closed, eyelashes shadowed on skin, and Itachi knew he'd never seen anyone as beautiful as Naruto looked now.

It wasn't lust, but the pure humanity and openness that he displayed that Itachi found appealing, showing that while he could rule a whole village and take on a madman, Naruto was still human, still flesh and blood. He could still feel human desire and Itachi was that desire.

As Naruto's breath hitched, Itachi palmed his own cock, desire overwhelming him. No matter the amount of times they did this, Itachi could never quite believe that he was the reason Naruto looked like this, the reason Naruto gave all the soft smiled through the day, that Naruto loved him.

Naruto opened his eyes, half-lidded and aimed at Itachi as if he was the only person in the universe. For all the attention they were paying to their surroundings, they might have been the only two people in existence and so, when Naruto ordered him to sit back a little, through his lashes with a coy grin, Itachi obeyed at once.

His back was pressed to the headboard, pillows cushioning him slightly. Naruto kneeled over his lap, fingers still spreading himself as he leant in to kiss Itachi. The kiss was open mouthed, with curled tongue and filth, but Itachi grabbed Naruto nonetheless, pulling him closer and arching his hips upwards a little to brush against the back Naruto's thigh. The blonde flicked his tongue over Itachi's lips, shifting backwards on his knees until Itachi's cock was buried between his cheeks, held there by the free fingers of Naruto's hand.

"What do you want?" he whispered huskily. Itachi could feel the jerk he couldn't repress against Naruto's warm hand and met his eyes with heat.

"I want to fuck you," he stated, darting forwards to kiss the side of Naruto's mouth. "I want to make you come again and again, pressed against you and in you so deeply you'll never forget this moment."

He could feel Naruto shiver at his words and a smirk curled. He knew Naruto would be able to feel it as he trailed along his jawline, sloppily and lazily licking the skin, and so it was hardly a surprise when Naruto's hand grasped his cock, stroking in circles again with each fingertip.

Itachi sucked in a breath, tilting his head forwards as Naruto moved his hand, stroking up and down the full length of his erection before curling his thumb, fingering over the head and smoothing a mix of pre-come and lube over him.

"Your wish is my command," Naruto muttered into his ear, sinking down with no further warning, guiding Itachi into him with a shudder and a barely-concealed groan. His fingers slipped down over Itachi before resting on his hips, Naruto using the position to rock slightly, easing down Itachi's length.

When Naruto had settled, torturously clenching against Itachi as he'd adjusted, Itachi shifted his hips back, pulling out as much as he could. It wasn't much though and, through the hitching of breath that occurred as he moved against Naruto's rocking, he knew he needed more.

Being Naruto, he could clearly tell what Itachi was thinking and smirked, grinding down as he rocked back, drawing a shuddered breath from Itachi. He pushed up with his knees slightly, sliding off of Itachi just a fraction, pinning Itachi's hips with his waist and curving his back as he pushed back down.

It was a game, as always. Naruto would see how far he could stretch Itachi's limits and vice versa. They were still Shinobi and so lived for the challenge, making even sex a game. It wasn't just about the desire, but the push and pull of dynamics in a relationship, how far you could take your partner without taking them over the edge. Sometimes, that was better than the euphoria at the end, a better prize than the climax.

They moved together, Itachi pushing into Naruto as he moved downwards, groaning between huffs of air. His hands came to rest on Itachi's chest as he sunk lower, preventing Itachi moving at all, but wiggling backwards, shifting again, slower this time.

It didn't take long before Itachi could feel the pleasure building, his cock needing a release with each growing slight-rotation of Naruto's hips as he slipped from Itachi, his own erection caught between them, slick against Itachi's belly.

Sliding his hands to grip Naruto's waist, stilling the movements as he did so, Itachi pulled out and let Naruto lay on the bed, hovering over him with legs spread and cock already sliding in. He angled slightly, slowly sinking in until he felt Naruto shudder, smirking before he bent down for a kiss.

Now that he was in control, it didn't take long before Itachi came, head pressed against Naruto's neck, teeth sunk into skin. Naruto's hand clutched at his neck, through sweaty hair, and he whispered filthy promised as Itachi's come filled him. And Itachi being Itachi, he obliged.

Naruto's chest heaved as Itachi slipped from him, placing his hands on the mattress either side of Naruto's thighs, shifting his weight until he was resting his nose against bare muscle. He propped up on to his elbows, hands parting Naruto's legs before he trailed wet kisses upwards and inwards, meandering to Naruto's hole. It was swollen slightly, but slick with cum and Itachi wasted no time in swiping his tongue around the ring of muscle, reverting back to kisses as Naruto started.

His erection twitched in interest as Itachi dipped his tongue in, scraping his own cum out with a curled tongue, licking against Naruto's skin as he pulled back. He kissed his way up to Naruto's balls, catching the skin with his teeth gently, tracing the underside before moving back down again, sucking a trail of skin until he was able to press his tongue into Naruto again. The skin was heated under his touch, the muscle twitching as Naruto arched his back, a groan escaping

His eyelashes fluttered against Naruto's skin as he covered his hole, sucking gently. Naruto inhaled sharply, jerking up as cum slid out, Itachi's tongue catching it and kissing his skin, fingers smoothing against his hips. They left pale pressure points, stark against the glowing red of Naruto's flushed skin.

"Get up here," Naruto hissed and Itachi moved up, a white trail dribbling from the corner of his mouth.

The blonde kissed him, licking his chin clean first before plunging into his mouth. His hands curled into Itachi's hair, pulling him closer against the sweat and cum, and Itachi moved his leg to straddle his waist, a hand snaking down to rub between them, jerking against Naruto's cock.

After that, he didn't last long, coming undone against Itachi's hand and lips, a faltering breath escaping as his orgasm built, pushing him over the edge. Strands of cum littered up their bodies, mixed with the sweat and memories of touch, before Itachi moved back, pumping Naruto slowly as he lay on the bed, eyes tracking every minute movement Naruto made as he came.

When he was done, Naruto tilted his head back, resting against pillows as he sunk down next to Itachi, eyes closed and chest moving rapidly. They were both sweaty and sticky, but Itachi moved his arm around Naruto's shoulders, pulling him closer.

"Not too shabby," he muttered and received a light slap to the stomach, Naruto scoffing.

"You're getting old," Naruto said, propping himself up onto one elbow. "Now come on, I need a shower and I want you at least once more. Not going to have time for our lunch tomorrow as the delegation from Suna's arriving... best we make up for that now."

With a mischievous grin, Naruto padded off to the bathroom, looking back over his shoulder and raising an eyebrow.

They'd be okay. All of them, no matter what, Itachi knew they'd be okay.

 **改革**

The waves were a welcome constant, a thrum that Sasuke had missed. Ocean winds swept his hair away from his face, pressing against his cheeks with the electricity of life. He'd missed this, couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt so boneless, so free of weight and pressure, and knew he had one man to thank for his freedom.

Naruto had explained it over dinner, passing over platters of food casually as he detailed what Sasuke was going to do next. It hadn't been an order, but his tone had suggested no other option available... and Sasuke still wasn't sure that he was ready to make his own decisions fully yet, especially with regards to what Naruto had done and sacrificed for him.

So here he was, feeling as though he was on the edge of a new world with the sea tugging at him, calling to him. He'd have to return to Konoha in a few months (three was the official number he'd been allowed, though whether he'd need all three was a different matter), but he could enjoy his freedom for now.

Sasuke had been handed an opportunity. He could begin a new life alone before returning to Konoha. Who knew what would happen in the future, there was every chance that he'd return to Konoha the same as he was now... but he needed to try. He needed to at least try to start afresh, to gain a life of his own. He wouldn't be able to do that in a village that he'd hated and pledged to destroy.

He would return to Konoha, yes, but Konoha didn't need him right now. His former classmates (he might be able to call them friends one day perhaps) didn't need him and Naruto certainly didn't.

But that was okay. For once, Sasuke was glad his brother had something and he didn't. Itachi deserved so much more and Sasuke couldn't be the one to give it to him.

A gull called out as it flew overhead, wings moving slowly as it glided on the coastal breeze. Sasuke closed his eyes, a soft smile on his face.

Nothing was right yet, but they were all on their way to mending their lives and moving on.

"Thank you," Sasuke said, his words lost on the wind as he sat down on the rocks with no intention to move for a while, enjoying a simple pleasure for once.

 **改革**


End file.
